Holidays with Wolves
by Lady Kathryne
Summary: A collection of holiday based one shots... Each story has it's own rating, and if it's a follow up chapter, it will be marked as such... otherwise... they stand alone, so, enjoy :)
1. Until You're Home

**Title:** Until You're Home

**Pairing**: Bella/ Embry

**Rating**: T

**Genre:** Hurt/Comfort

**Summary: **

Embry Call is a returning marine who was wounded in combat while saving three other marines. He's back home and in Seattle and none too pleased that he can't walk. Little does he know, his girlfriend has a very welcomed surprise for him as well as an incentive to make good on his promise to walk again- even though the doctors told him it wouldn't happen again.

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~)**

Jacob Black had patience for a great many things. He'd learned patience a long time ago. It had started for him when, at the age of 12, he'd lost his mother in the same car crash that had paralyzed his father. His older sisters had stayed just long enough for their mother's funeral and then they'd left him alone. He'd dealt with the pitying looks of his neighbors as they told him how brave he'd become as 'the man of the house.' He hated pity these days. He taught those in his care how to fight it so they'd get better, but pity of any kind left a sour taste in his mouth.

Jacob had been working with wounded soldiers and veterans in the physical therapy wing of Seattle Veteran's Memorial Hospital for just over a year. At 28 years old, he'd been a licensed physical therapist for the last two years of his life. He already had all the skill he'd ever need from dealing with his dad, but he didn't want to work with ordinary patients. There were bad cases, yes, but they gave up too easy. His dad had told him to find meaning in everything he did and give others meaning as well. What better way to do that than to work with wounded soldiers.

His current patient -a marine named Embry Call- had been passed over twice for being too difficult. The therapists didn't like his abrasive personality, nor did they care for his foul mouthed taunts. Jacob had heard the taunts and worse from his own father for years, and he found it easy to brush them aside and ignore. He looked at Embry now and sighed. His Humvee had been hit by an IED and shrapnel from the wreck had nearly torn his leg off at the knee. Despite that, he'd saved the lives of two other men- the driver and gunner inside- and even carried his partner and friend, fellow corporal Quil Ateara- on his back to the safety zone.

"Come on, just one more time. I know you're hurting, but don't give up on me now."

"I can't! _Fuck_! I'm tired as hell! Go bug someone else you jackass!" Embry snarled, sitting down in his wheel chair with shaking arms.

"Come on man, lighten up will ya? Ol' doc don't need your shit. He's only tryin to help ya."

"Can it Whitlock, you pansy ass flyboy."

Jacob sighed and crouched down beside Embry. His harsh words and angry attitude were two of the main reasons he'd been pushed off on other therapists. There was only so much they could take before they'd been worn down by him. It took a special person to take insult after insult and brush it off like it was a casual hello. Luckily Jacob was one such person. He'd heard it from his dad growing up when the pain was too much.

"One more for the road?" Jacob asked. He'd seen the determination in Embry's eyes. This happened to be the pain talking.

Embry smirked. "You'd have made one hell of a marine, doc."

"You're stallin' Call."

Embry scowled and hauled himself up from the chair. "I thought I told you to can it. Fucking air men! Grow a set and come down to the real fight sometime. Let's see how much you talk then!"

Jacob only shook his head walking beside Embry as he used the bars to help him walk. "Just remember, I'm not a doctor, and you're up next Jasper."

Quil, who had been working with Jared Cameron- another therapist- laughed at Jasper's paling face. Jacob and Jared shared the same views. They both had all the patience in the world as long as their patients tried. Both of them were notorious hard asses among the soldiers because they both hated pity; It didn't help their patients get better, so it wasn't needed, nor did they give it.

"That ain't fair doc! Jane is supposed to be workin with me! Or Alice…" Jasper stuttered.

Jared shot Jacob an amused look and both of them rolled their eyes. Jane and Alice took it too easy on all the soldiers. "They're out of town for the holidays already. They took an early vacation… neither of them will be back before the first." Jared supplied as he walked beside a grimacing Quil.

Jasper only huffed causing the other soldiers to laugh. Their laughter doubled when they heard '_fucking grunts_' muttered under his breath.

Two hours later found Jacob sitting at a table with Embry, Quil and two fellow marines and members of their unit- corporal Paul Lahote and sergeant Sam Uley- enjoying a game of poker after dinner. He liked to try and get to know the soldiers on a personal level and along with Jared seemed to be the only one to do so. He got better results for it too. He'd even won the praise of some of the surgical doctors- even though he wasn't looking for it.

"So… Black… now that you're finished trying to kill us… you goin home soon for the holidays?" Quil asked. "We all heard the nurses talking about it.. Wonderin why you were still here. We all wanna know." He said when Jacob raised an eyebrow.

Jacob shook his head in mild amusement. Nurses talked too much. "I'm not… nothing important to go home to, ya know? I'll drive out on Christmas to see my dad and maybe my sister… but… it's just me."

"Well that sucks… no girlfriend… no wife?" Sam asked.

"No… there was one once. Megan… but… we drifted apart after school when her dad got more and more sick. She moved back to Colorado. We still talk sometimes.. But… nope, just me. Last I heard she's engaged to some hot shot wanna be lawyer…" He shrugged.

Paul shook his head. "Some guys get all the luck."

"Tell me about it!" Quil muttered. He glared down at the other end of the room where he overheard an airman griping about having to use a cane to walk. They all snorted. Heaven forbid the man have to fight to walk again.

"Hey, so, when's your mom bringing Claire back?" Embry asked to break the tension.

It worked. Quil grinned. "She'll be here tomorrow. My mom said she's been asking about me!"

"How old is she now?" Jacob asked.

"She'll be two on the 31st. She looks just like her mom…" Quil trailed off and sighed. His eyes grew watery and he turned his head.

Paul and Sam eyed him curiously. They may have been from the same unit, but he and Sam had been relatively new to the group as a whole. They were all from Seattle, they learned, but they had grown up in different parts of the city.

"Cassidy died giving birth to Claire. Quil had all of a week with Claire before our unit was deployed again." Embry supplied for them.

"Damn… I'm sorry bro…"

Quil smiled. "It's alright. It hurts… Cassy was my best friend- other than Embry- but… I have a piece of her left in Claire. I'm kind of glad I got hurt… in a way. I don't have to leave again. Once we're out of here we're all getting discharged."

"We owe you Embry." Sam told him.

Paul nodded. "You saved our asses."

"I only did my job. They barely got Quil to the hospital in time." Embry huffed. He'd never see himself as the hero they claimed he was. It just made him more of one to them.

Quil rolled his eyes. "But they did. I'm alive and breathing because you risked your own damn life instead of leaving me like I told you to do. You nearly lost your own damn leg, so shut the hell up about it, Call." He grinned.

Jacob smiled. "So what about the rest of you lazy asses? Anyone else got family coming tomorrow?" He asked redirecting the conversation.

"My wife Leah's coming." Sam grinned.

Paul smirked. "My girlfriend Emily's coming to see me."

"What about you, Embry? Got a hot date for tomorrow?"

Embry sighed. He opened his mouth several times before laying his cards down and rolling his chair over to a window. Quil gave them a half hearted smile. He'd grown up with Embry. They'd gone through school together, gotten into fights, been suspended, graduated and even enlisted in the marines together. Once they were out of boot camp they'd been put in the same unit and had had each other's backs throughout their tour of duty. He was Quil's brother in every way but blood.

"He asked her not to come again." He finally said while staring at Embry.

"The _fuck_? **Why**?!" Paul asked with wide eyes.

Quil sighed. "He doesn't think she'll see him as he was anymore. She swore she'd still love him, but, he still wants to be able to take care of her not have her take care of him."

They could all understand that. "How long have they been together?" Sam asked.

"Off and on all through high school. Once senior year started, something just clicked. They still fought, but, they never split apart. They've been serious since then."

Paul shook his head, too impressed to say anything. He and his current girlfriend, Emily had been together for two years. Up until hearing Quil, he'd thought his relationship was serious.

Jacob sat next to Embry, not saying a word. He'd either talk or not. He inwardly smirked when he saw Embry roll his eyes at him. He always did that before leveling him with a tongue lashing.

"Go away doc. You're a physical therapist, not a shrink." Embry quipped.

Jacob shrugged. "I'll listen if you wanna talk. Or bitch."

"You would have made on hell of a marine." Embry mused. He looked over his shoulder to see Quil being wheeled out of the rec room by a giggling blonde nurse. "Lights out already?"

"Not yet. They left early in case you wanted to talk."

"_Quil_… dammit." Embry sighed and shook his head.

Jacob grinned. "Nope… Paul."

That surprised him. "Why?"

"He said he's been where you are." Jacob shrugged.

Embry snorted. "I'm sure. Save for life imprisonment in a chair, we're not that much alike."

"You kind of are… you're both foul mouthed, insufferable, obnoxious pains in the rear end who would go through hell and back for their friends."

"Jack ass."

Jacob shrugged. "Gonna tell me about your girl?"

His face lit up thinking about her. "Where do I start? Bella… her name is Bella Swan. She's amazing! She's got this chestnut colored hair that frames her face… goes down to her waist… she refuses to cut it. She's got these deep brown eyes you could fall into and not care. She's a damn amazing cook… sexy as sin without trying and sweet as honey. Smart.. Sassy.. Responsible.. Loyal.." Embry sighed.

"So why not see her?" Jacob pressed.

Embry shook his head, his grin falling from his lips. "I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"I don't want her to see me this weak."

There lay the truth of it. Jacob sighed. "Listen…from me to you… you're a **lot** stronger than me."

Embry looked up, startled. "What do you mean?"

"I'd have given up after the first few days. Some pain I can handle. I had my leg in a cast in high school… but to have to force myself to go through that… Embry, you've been my patient for just over two weeks now. And that's only because you pushed away the first two. You've been in therapy for two months now and you're already doing more than the operating doctors said you would. That's not weakness… it's strength."

No more words were said as Jacob wheeled him to his room. The routine had become nearly mechanical as Embry made ready for bed. Jacob gave him one last wave before the lights went off and he got left to his thoughts in the dark.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Shock completely took Embry over when Jacob came to get him the next day for therapy. Instead of heading to the 'torture chamber' as some of the soldiers had dubbed it, Jacob wheeled him to the maternity ward.

"What the actual **fuck**? Doc, you've lost your damn _mind_! Why are we here?"

Jacob snorted. Yeah… he'd lost his mind- that had to be it. "Just shut up and meet your daughter."

"M-my _daughter_? The fuck have you been **smoking**? Take me back to my damn room or move and I'll do it my damn self!"

"Embry?" He knew that voice. He'd know it anywhere. He just didn't understand why he'd heard it in here. His eyes roved over the low lighted room. There in the corner next to a dome covered bassinet sat the woman he hoped to one day call his wife.

"Bella?" He didn't fight when Jacob rolled his chair closer.

"Hi…" She sounded exhausted.

Embry looked stunned. There in the covered bassinet was a tiny replica of himself. "You… but…"

"Your mom helped me. I found out a couple weeks after you'd left. We didn't want you distracted- she wanted me to tell you but I refused. I watched the news every night. I knew you weren't in a safe zone… so I said to hold off and I'd handle the consequences when you came home." She said with her chin wobbling.

"Baby girl…" He cooed.

He wanted to be pissed off at her. She'd gone through an entire pregnancy and birth by herself just so he wouldn't worry about her. He should have been furious. But he knew and understood why she'd done it.

"How mad are you?" She asked.

He finally wheeled himself closer to where she sat. "I want to be pissed. But I get it." He promised her, taking her hand in his.

"I thought I had time. But I got the letter asking me not to come see you. Your mom said you just needed more time. But it upset me… She's only three weeks early, so they're not that concerned. Your therapist came to see me this morning. I guess doctors know you by name. Baby… your mouth, I swear."

He chuckled. When he looked over his shoulder he only shook his head, surprised to see Jacob gone. "Yeah, doc would have made a damn good marine…" He turned to look at his daughter again. There were no doubts she was his. Bella would never cheat- that thought hadn't even crossed his mind. "What's her name?"

"Say hello to Makenzii Nicole Call."

Embry stared at her in awe. That had been his sister's name until she was killed by a drunk driver when she was only ten. "Does my mom know?"

"I asked her first. I told her what I wanted to name her… she teared up… and then she thanked me for honoring your sister."

"I love you… so damn much. You're so amazing. What would I do without you?"

"You'd go fucking nuts!" A voice echoed from the doorway.

Bella grinned. "Quil Ateara, you keep that loud trap of yours shut and watch your mouth around my daughter or I'll sew it shut for you!" She scolded.

"Ma'am, yes ma'am." Quil teased, wheeling himself closer to hug her.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Shut the hell up before I tell your mother to smack you. She's the only one who wouldn't break her hand on your hard skull."

"Oh she's with a marine alright!" Sam grinned. He and Paul wheeled in behind Quil and sat just in the doorway. Thankfully the room was spacious.

"Jacob told us. We had to come make sure the kid wasn't cursed with your ugly mug." Paul teased.

"You wait till I tell Emily." Quil grinned.

Embry's eyes met Jacob's as he moved to stand behind his friends. He didn't know if a simple thanks would be enough. So it went unsaid. But Jacob saw it in his eyes. Instead, he said, "Remind me again doc… how long am I here?"

"Not much longer." Jacob smiled. "You gotta walk out of here though."

Bella leaned her head on his shoulder after being introduced to Sam and Paul. "I can't wait to see you home walking with Makenzii."

"What if I'm not?" He noticed his friends trying hard to pretend they weren't listening.

"You will be. You're too stubborn to quit. And I'm too stubborn to lose faith. So I'll keep praying and you'll keep getting stronger. Before you know it, you'll be out of here and chasing Makenzii ." No one could fault her. They all felt that way.

"Until I'm home." He liked the way that sounded.

"Until you come home."

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Jacob grinned when he saw Embry packing his duffel bag. It had been a hard fought road. Three months of sweat and tears, but Embry Call got to go home.

"I think I'm gonna miss you, you son of a bitch." Embry huffed, finally noticing Jacob standing there.

Jacob grinned. "You have my number. Same with Sam, Paul and Quil. Jared's too. Even though you didn't get to work with him. We all live around each other."

"Yeah, yeah. You got ours too. Don't try to hide from us fucker. You forget, we can all walk again. We'll come find your ass." Embry teased.

"Oh get the hell out of here." Jacob grinned and shook his hand.

Embry waved him off and grumbled half heartedly about being forced back into a wheelchair. It changed when he saw Bella and Makenzii. He allowed her to help him into her car and grinned the whole way to their apartment. It took them a minute to make it up the steps, but he couldn't help but sigh in content when the door closed behind them.

Bella's hands wrapped around his waist after Makenzii had been placed in her crib for a nap. "It may be three months late, but this is the best Christmas present ever. You're home."

"It's an early birthday present for me. I'm home." He told her.

Bella grinned. "You're home."


	2. Snowflake Confessions

**Title:** Snowflake Confessions

**Pairing**: Bella/Quil

**Rating**: T

**Genre:** friendship

**Summary: **

A quiet day with nothing to do has the pack heading into the woods for a snowball fight. In the midst of flying snow and balls of ice, a certain wolf slips away to tell Bella his biggest secret. He can only pray that she'll accept it as the truth.

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~) **

"Man, I'm bored!" Brady whined. He'd been lounging on Seth's couch watching a game of Call of Duty. Collin and Seth only nodded in agreement. They'd all been home from school on winter vacation for two days. There were only so many video games they could play in between patrols with the pack. They'd been wolves for a year now, and even that has lost it's glamor after the family that had caused their change had moved back into town.

"We could always go bug the girls…" Collin finally suggested.

"Hell no! They'd have our hides! They went shopping with Emily and Bella for Christmas dinner. If those two get pissed before or during shopping, no one gets fed… if no one gets fed… well… I'd rather not see what would happen." Seth shivered.

Brady shivered at the thought. "I'm not exactly game for pissing off the older wolves."

Whatever Collin might have said fell short as his phone buzzed on the coffee table. Seth's phone followed them, ringing to life as well. Brady smirked. He'd left his phone at home on purpose. He didn't want to be bugged.

"Awesome. Come on guys. Pack snowball fight. Sam's giving us the day off from patrol."

Seth grinned. "And the girls are gonna play too! Awesome!" He turned the game off and made sure all their trash made it to the kitchen garbage bin. His mom would kill him if the house got left messy.

"But isn't Ashleigh sick…" Brady quipped.

Collin shrugged. "Bella is gonna fill in for her." He said following him and Seth out of the house. He closed the door and followed them down the front walk.

It took ten minutes to run by wolf to get to the clearing they would be using.. usually they'd use the whole forest- but with the girls playing, they wanted to make it easy. As usual, the overeager pups that they were, had been the first to show.

"I hope I'm teamed with Bella." Collin mused.

Brady nodded. "I'll give you that. That girl is damn sneaky."

"Too bad none of us imprinted on her…" Collin sighed. "It'd be hot to have an older girlfriend."

Seth rolled his eyes. "Quil would kick your ass if he heard you say that."

"He should just man up and tell her then. I don't get why he doesn't." Brady grumbled.

"He doesn't think she'd believe it, I guess. I mean, it does sound far fetched." Collin shrugged.

After all, Quil and Bella had been around one another for nearly a year already. Quil had looked in her eyes numerous times without giving anything away. The reason he hadn't been a growling mess around the older wolves lay in the fact that he knew none of them felt that way for her. Bella had been just a sister to them for a long time- ever since Jacob had saved her from the cliffs. Even Paul, who at one point had hated her, defended her and treated her like an older sister he loved to annoy. She'd earned his respect the day she'd nearly broken every bone in her arm from slapping Edward across the face when he'd insulted the pack. She'd run straight to Quil, Jacob and Embry and had stayed close to them since then.

"What sounds far fetched?" A new voice sounded from behind them.

Seth rolled his eyes. "Nothing, Leah. Last time I checked it was a private conversation."

"Aww…. Is wittle Seffy- poo embarrassed." Leah cooed in a tone that had the wolf residing in Seth growling. Sister or not, she knew just how to raise his proverbial hackles with ease.

Brady and Collin snickered. Neither of them had older sisters, so they didn't understand the torment Seth endured from Leah on a daily basis. They shifted from foot to foot when Leah started pressing more buttons. Their usually chipper friend grew more and more antsy until he finally lost his temper with his sister and swung. They may have been older now, but the she-wolf still outranked them in the pack, and they didn't want to chance getting on her bad side by helping Seth. It wasn't until they heard Jacob calling them to break it up that they realized the pack had finally appeared.

Seth huffed and pushed Leah away from him. "Hey guys."

"Everything ok?" Jacob asked with a raised eyebrow.

Leah rolled her eyes. "It's fine. I'm allowed to pick on my brother." She snarked.

Sam sighed. "The girls should be here soon. Bella stopped to check on Ashleigh. She said to tell you she's doing fine, Jake and that if she finds out your harassing your imprint again, she'll get one of us to help her set your tail on fire."

Jacob sighed. "She needs to stop hanging around us… she's starting to sound just like Paul."

"HEY!" Paul huffed.

"What's wrong with Ashleigh, Jake?" Jared asked.

"She caught the flu bug from someone at work this past weekend. She got sent home from work early on Friday with a high fever. She had to call Sam and have him come get me away from the house for a while." Jacob huffed.

Brady and Collin only snickered. Paul rolled his eyes. "Just wait, pups. Your imprints are out there." He smirked at their horrified faces.

Embry nodded his head towards Bella's jeep. "Here they come."

Jacob grinned. Bella's old truck had finally keeled over and died. Jacob had convinced her to scrap it and use the money to buy the used jeep he'd seen only two days before that. She'd dubbed the new jeep 'Beast' with an affectionate pat upon sight, and $2,000.00 later, it she had signed her name onto the title.

Quil couldn't help the smile that slid across his lips when he saw Bella stepping out of the jeep. His wolf nearly whined when she only glanced his way before hugging Jacob and telling him about Ashleigh. Jacob and Embry gave him sympathetic smiles and patted his back. They reminded him that if he'd only tell her, things would be easier.

For his part, Quil rolled his eyes and shook his head. Now wasn't the right time. He didn't want the whole pack to see him groveling for her forgiveness when she found out he'd been keeping things from her.

"So, there are normal humans involved… what's the game plan?" Brady wondered.

"I say we split the imprinted couples up… opposite teams… we could make Sam and Emily team captains since they're the alpha pair…" Collin mused.

Everyone shrugged. It had been a good suggestion.

By the time they'd finished, Sam had Kim, Paul, Embry, Quil, Leah and Collin on his team. That left Emily with Jared, Rachel, Jacob, Bella, Seth and Brady. Sam only sighed. At least the trouble makers weren't on the same team. He thought himself lucky he had at least two of them together on his team. Then again… Emily had Bella and Jacob.. The teams might have been matched even after all.

"So… rules are simple… you can hide behind the forts, or behind trees, logs and rocks, but if you're hit by a snowball, you sit." Jared declared.

"Last one standing wins." Paul added.

Bella smirked, her eyes alight with mischief. Embry noticed and nudged Quil when he saw her whispering to Jacob before pulling out white hats, gloves and scarves for the girls. His eyes widened when he saw the color of her outfit.

"Sneaky woman…" Quil grinned.

Leah smirked. "She's decked out in white…"

"They all are.." Jared mused taking the time inspect the girls.

Sam grinned towards Bella. "Who's idea was that?"

"We need some kind of advantage against you guys!" She huffed.

Quil shook his head with amusement. No wonder he'd fallen head over heels for her. She'd come into her own after the leech- sassy, smart, sweet and playful all wrapped up in a sexy body that he found even more so because she didn't waste time covering it with garbage… like the make up the sluts in Forks wore every time they came to the beach. Even his wolf had little to complain about- other than her being too skinny.

"Let's give the girls time to hide while we make the forts…" He suggested.

Bella eyed Quil with a wistful smile on her lips that didn't go unnoticed by Embry or Jacob. The poor girl had been lying to herself if she thought they didn't know she had feelings for the chocolate furred wolf. It wouldn't take much more time before he broke through her defenses. The pack knew it too. They'd know about Quil's imprint on Bella as soon as it had happened. Even with their encouragement, he'd avoided telling her.

"You've got until we're finished here. And no one throws snowballs at the girls hard." Sam warned.

Quil watched Bella run off, fully intent on tracking her down, game be damned. The white outfit just made it more of a challenge to him and his wolf. They'd find their mate, and then they'd tell her about the imprint. After that, they'd never let her go.

(~_~_~_~_~_~)

As soon as they finished the forts the game started. The girls, it turned out, had made their own forts around the outside of the clearing. They'd been smart- using trees and logs at their backs, but not smart enough for the wolf pups. They'd managed to avoid being hit so far, but they'd been forced from their man made shelters. Rachel had tried to sneak up on Paul, only to be hit in the side by Kim.

"Not fair, Kim! We had a deal!" Rachel pouted.

Kim's ready reply was cut off by Emily's well time snowball to her back. She shrugged before sprinting for shelter. Kim only sighed and grinned from her spot in the snow. "You'll get yours Emily!"

"Hey… where's Bella?" Collin wondered.

Paul shrugged and dodged a snowball to the face. "Dunno."

It came down to Seth, Brady, Paul and Sam after an hour of playing. The others had been hit and now supplied ammo for the last four players.

"Where's Quil?" Brady snickered, ducking a snowball from Paul while aiming for Sam at the same time. Sam rolled his eyes and ducked.

Seth flipped backwards sending his own snowball towards Sam, landing with a smirk when it hit him in the shoulder, all the while dodging a snowball from Paul to the head. Sam sighed. Seth had always been bit of a show off- he reminded Sam of a fledgling peacock. He shook his head, none the less impressed by his quick reflexes.

In no time at all it had come down to Seth and Paul after Paul had ambushed Brady while he'd been making more snowballs for Seth. He'd tried to get both of them at once, but Seth's keen hearing had caught the movement and ducked to avoid a blow to the chest.

Quil could hear it all, he just didn't care. He wasn't completely in control at the moment. His wolf had been on the hunt since the game had started and Bella Swan had become the prey. She'd been on his mind a great deal lately. He snorted as he followed her scent past the clearing. Her eyes, her smile, her flowing hair, her body… her smell- strawberries and vanilla… all of it close by him.

'My mate.' He agreed with his wolf. It was now past time for him to tell her what he knew. But, it had to be the human part of him to do it. She'd understand it better without the animal to interfere.

The chocolate brown fur gave him away easy enough, but Bella forgot just how keen a wolf's hearing could be, and just how fast they could move. It took her all of five seconds to come out of hiding, another five seconds to scoop up her snowball, and a total of ten seconds to land on her back with Quil hovering over her. She watched with wide surprised eyes as he smirked down at her.

"Gotcha Bells." He whispered, his voice husky.

She swallowed and put her hands on his sides. She'd always envied the wolves their high body temperatures. Even in the winter time, they could walk around shirtless and not catch their death in the cold. She shifted, allowing Quil to settle between her legs.

"Quil… you DO have some kind of clothing on, right?" She asked finally.

He brushed a stray piece of hair from her eyes. "Yeah, don't worry, Bella. I'm a kid at heart, not a perv." He teased.

She didn't know why she felt so disappointed. "Most of the time anyways." She'd wonder why she felt the way she did later- when he wasn't laying with his hips flush against hers.

He inwardly smirked when her breath caught as their eyes met. "Most of the time." He repeated.

"Quil?" Something had changed. Bella had been smart enough to realize that. Somehow, Quil had finally found a way past the walls she'd erected to keep her heart safe.

"Bella, I need to tell you something…" He murmured, his fingers brushing over her face.

'Here it comes.' She mused.

"I imprinted… my wolf did…"

Her breath left her in one fell whoosh. She couldn't have heard those words. She'd already fallen for him, and she'd have to live with unrequited love.

"…The moment we saw you…" He trailed off when he smelled her tears. "Bella?"

All she'd heard was he'd imprinted. Not that she'd be it for him for the rest of their lives. She'd started shutting down immediately afterwards. She felt confused as to why he'd been telling her though. They were best friends, of course, but, had he told her looking for advice like Jacob had? She didn't know if she could tell him how to tell another girl she was his forever- not when she wanted it to be her.

"Bella, look at me, please?" Quil tried again.

She gasped when her eyes met his. She saw the love and concern shining there for her. She couldn't help the confusion that danced through her eyes. "You imprinted…"

"On you." He nodded.

"On me?" She echoed. "When?"

Quil sighed. "The day I saw you… well, the day my wolf first saw you. I've been trying to tell you… I just didn't think you'd believe it. We've seen each other for so long now… first we'd been hunting ol' red… then the Cullens came back… but you put Edward in his place… and then-"

Bella cut him off with a kiss. "You didn't have to wait a whole year, you know…" She teased.

"You're not mad?" He checked.

She shrugged. "I want to be… I do. I get it though. I'm just… happy."

He grinned and leaned down to kiss her again. His wolf howled in triumph inside his chest. "You know this means you're stuck with me right?"

"Bella nodded. "I'm not complaining."


	3. No Place I'd Rather Be

**Title:** No Place I'd Rather Be

**Pairing**: Paul/Bella

**Rating**: M- mostly for language

**Genre:** friendship/ romance

**Summary: **

Paul is a marine. His wife just happens to be his best friend from childhood. She gave birth to his second child- a son- while he was deployed overseas. Now that he's home, he gets to find out why he fell in love with her all over again.

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~)**

"Hey, Lahote, you excited? It's our turn out of the gate soon! Gunnery Sergeant said I'm with you guys today!" A voice crowed to his left.

Paul eyed the new kid. Pale skin, blonde hair, blue eyes and, save for the muscles earned in boot camp, not a scar on him. He'd been fresh out too, and had only been assigned to Paul's unit for the last month. So far, Paul had avoided him any chance he could. He hated replacement soldiers. He only shook his head now and walked away. Wonders never ceased to amaze him.

"O-okay… cool… see you soon!"

His friends- the original Desert Ghosts, as their unit was named- snickered in the corner. Sam Uley, Jared Cameron, Embry Call, Jacob Black and Quil Ateara. They'd become notorious in a fire fight. No one had ever seen them lose it under pressure and they were quick and efficient without being seen by the enemy- hence _Desert Ghosts_. With the high praise to their job skill, came the unfortunate side effect of being less than welcoming to anyone outside of their small group. They were well known for their lack of acceptance to 'new blood.'

Mike Newton, aka Newt, may have been a marine in the Desert Ghost's unit, but he'd not truly earned his spot yet. It had been given to him as a place holder because a more deserving marine had given his life in the line of duty. He'd have to earn that spot for himself. So far… it had been slow coming.

"Pussy." Paul muttered.

Jared smirked. "Now now, don't be too harsh. After all he **is** just a baby."

"Baby's gonna get one of us killed if he doesn't shut the fuck up with that shit." Jacob nodded to where Mike stood, doing a poor impression of stand up comedian.

"Dumb fuck." Quil snorted.

"Hey Sam, gimme your lighter." Paul huffed. "Mine's empty."

Sam shook his head and tossed the lighter towards Paul's head. He wasn't surprised when Paul caught it before it even got close to its mark. "You're supposed to be quitting… remember?" He teased.

Paul only shrugged and inhaled the cigarette smoke. He'd need the fix if he had to put up with the dumb fuck today.

"Bella's gonna skin your ass alive." Jacob grinned.

Paul shook his head. "Nah, she's got enough to worry about besides me killing myself with cigarettes. Adam's got a girlfriend." He grinned.

"Uh oh, who's the unlucky girl?" Embry teased.

Paul gave him a one finger salute before hopping up to move to his bunk. "Her name's Autumn. She's a little girl in his preschool class. Here she sent a picture in the last letter. There's one of Noah in there too." He said handing the pictures to Embry.

"Damn, man! Noah's getting big! How old is he now? Seven months or so?"

"Nine months." Paul grinned. "He walked yesterday. Bella sent me a message on Facebook."

Sam shook his head. "Leah said Caleb's rolling over now."

Jacob sighed too. "Liam knows my face from pictures, but he doesn't know me. Emily tries… but… it's hard.. You know?"

Embry and Quil stayed quiet. Angela had told Embry that everything had been fine in the pregnancy so far, but he still worried. It had been a surprise to the both of them that he'd been given an extra month of leave- all for a shot to the leg. That whole month had been spent in their bed and her pregnancy had been the result of it.

Quil sighed. He had the only girl out of their group so far. His little Claire had been left in the capable hands of the most amazing woman in the world- in his opinion anyway. Of course, Jacob still couldn't believe sometimes his best friend happened to be his brother-in-law too, but he couldn't complain. If anyone could handle it, he knew Quil could.

"Man, I hate not having a kid sometimes. I get why Kim doesn't want one just yet… she doesn't wanna go through it alone, and I don't want her to either, but I miss out on this shit!" Jared huffed.

"Yeah, but bro, you wait till we're back stateside, you'll have one up on us… you'll be the only one who gets to deal with the whole pregnancy." Sam reminded him.

"And the delivery." Paul added.

The jovial atmosphere changed when they heard shouts pouring in over the radio. A convoy had gotten pinned down by enemy fire as they were headed back to the base. A Humvee had been pinned down as well with the driver and four men stranded on the road.

"That sounds like Clearwater and his team. I heard him talkin' Fuller and Littlesea down because they had new kids in their unit they who kept showing off while they were out on patrols outside of the gate." Jacob said in shock.

"Damn does that sound familiar! Suit up boys!" Paul shouted.

A flurry of activity ensued as everyone suited up and made sure their weapons and ammo were all in order. Paul became agitated when they stuck Mike with him, Jared, Embry and Quil. As long as he could do his job, things would be fine.

The rescue had gone perfect. They'd gotten the Humvee evacuated and rescued the stranded- and wounded- marines. They had been on the way back to their vehicles when Mike had to try and play the cowboy. He'd seen them being followed by a group of men. When he'd turned around to engage, Paul had enough. He took his mind off the task at hand for a second to reprimand Mike when all hell broke loose.

Brady Fuller and Collin Littlesea, two marines Paul had known for a year, ended up with near fatal wounds from gunshots to the back, side and chest. Jared had been stabilizing them when he took a bullet to the neck. Even Embry had taken a bullet to the arm and another to his side while trying to stabilize the three.

They got air lifted out as soon as they were back inside the gate. When their boots touched the ground, before anyone could stop him, Paul's fist connected to Mike's jaw. They watched as the boy went down with one hit. Another punch to Mike's stomach had him couching up blood. Paul was pulled off by Sam after that.

"Pull a fucking stunt like that again mother fucker and I'll kill your ass myself. You had better **pray** they survive! I'll fucking throw you over the damn wall for terrorists to use as target practice- complete with a bright red bulls eye in the center of your fucking head you cock sucking son of a bitch. Go the fuck home if you wanna play the fucking hero! I don't want some wanna be cunt licker fresh in the sand box watching my back. Come near me again before I find out if those marines survived and it'll be the **last** damn thing you do you fucker!"

"Paul… come on bro… walk it off… come _on_ dude! Damn!" Sam growled. He noticed Jacob and Quil struggling to hold Seth back as well. Fuller and Littlesea had gone through boot camp with him- the three were as close as brothers.

"Fuckin pussy ass marshmallow! Nearly got my ass fucking killed!" Paul hissed. "Fucking cowboy! Who the fuck **does** that? They teach you **not** to engage in fucking _basic_! The fuck! Did he sleep through the damn drills?!"

"Come on tiger. You can kill the punching bag." Sam offered.

Jacob, Quil and Seth headed for the hospital building to check on Embry while Mike got escorted to the officers tent to give his account of what had gone wrong.

Paul sighed and thanked God he got time to call Bella an hour later. He'd beaten most of his aggression out against the punching bag, abusing it while imagining Mike Newton's face instead. He'd gone to check on Embry and been told he would be alright before asking about his friends. So far, they were stable and in Germany for surgery. He smiled when his screen lit up with the love of his life.

"Baby girl." He cooed. All his stress just melted away at the sight of her.

There were tears in her eyes. She must have seen something on the news. "Hey, you ok?"

He chuckled. Typical Bella. She always worried about him first. "Just missing you guys like crazy! I can't wait to get outta this damn sand box."

"Me too baby. Hey Adam! Come say hi to daddy!" Bella grinned when a squeal was heard.

"Daddy!" The chubby face of his son showed up on the screen causing him to smile. There sat a near exact replica of Paul when he'd been a baby. All save for his mom's eyes and nose.

"There's my little heart breaker! You helping mommy take care of things while I'm gone?" He grinned when Adam nodded. "You're taking care of Noah too, right?"

"Put him back!" Adam huffed.

Paul chuckled. "We can't do that buddy. Why?"

"I want a girl! No! Noah that's mine!" Adam pouted.

Bella chuckled and moved the camera so Paul could see them fussing over a toy pirate ship before turning it back to her. "He wants a sister. Autumn has a baby sister, so he wants a sister now too." She explained.

Paul nodded his head in understanding. "Well… we can try when I get home."

Bella chuckled. "Not so fast Mr. We'll talk about it, ok?"

"Of course baby girl. As long as your happy. How are the girls?" He asked referring to his friends' wives.

"Staying strong for the rest of you. Kim saw something on the news today… is… are you guys ok?" Bella asked.

Paul sighed and scrubbed his face. "We got ambushed… Jared… he's… he'll be fine." He didn't sound so convinced.

"They called Kim a half hour ago. She told us he's in surgery from a gunshot… but nothing else."

"It was to his neck. They want to make sure it didn't pierce anything. He's a fighter. He'll be ok." He promised. He looked up when he heard a throat clear. He smiled when he saw Jacob, Quil and Sam in the doorway.

"Everything ok?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, I gotta go. I'll be home a week before Christmas… not long now." He promised.

"I love you baby. Stay safe!" Bella kissed the screen before ending their call. Her kiss for luck, so she said.

"How's Jared?" Paul asked.

Jacob scrubbed his face. "Stable. Lucky as fuck too. Brady is still critical. Collin is fine. Embry got stitches and they're keeping him overnight to make sure it doesn't get infected."

"Damn. Fucking Newton." Paul growled.

Quil nodded. "Do me a favor? Don't let him watch my back." He huffed.

"You said it man." Sam nodded.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Bella stood waiting with Leah, Emily, Angela and Rachel. They had a week left before Christmas and she couldn't have been happier. Her husband would be home after nearly a full year of deployment. She could tell her friends were just as excited, but they all showed some ounce of decorum and pretended to wait patiently.

She knew they'd stepped off the plane when the clapping started. Her eyes teared up when she saw him. Adam tore from her hand like a bullet out of a gun, propelling himself into his daddy's arms. Women in the audience cooed and awed at the sight. His own personal hero had come home, and he couldn't have been happier than if Santa had come too. Bella carried Noah to him, falling into his arms with their kids between them.

"Come on, lets get you home." She finally said.

Noah surprised him by reaching out his little arms and early launching himself from Bella's hold. Onlookers cooed and awed at the sight again. There were even a few women who sent Bella jealous looks. Paul paid them no mind. His girl was the most gorgeous creature he'd ever seen, and she'd blessed him with two absolute angels.

"Hey buddy. Do you know who I am?" he cooed.

"Da!" Paul looked on in awe.

Bella's camera sounded, alerting Paul that his sneaky wife had just taken a picture of him at one of his more vulnerable moments. She grinned and picked Adam up, grinning when he squealed. "I'll send it to you when we get into the car." She promised.

The ride home had been long and peaceful. Christmas music played through the speakers and Adam and Noah dropped off to sleep in their car seats in the back. Paul's hand was held firm in Bella's over the center console as he caught her up on everything that had happened while he'd been deployed.

"…So the guys thought we'd go and see Jared tomorrow. He's back state side now too. But he has to be in the hospital through Christmas. Doctor's orders." Paul said with a roll of his eyes.

Bella nodded her head. "Kim said Sam talked to her already. We should have everyone over for dinner tomorrow. I know you guys see each other all the time, but this will be one of those times when nothing goes wrong. We've got a huge house… and I can cook something huge. There's plenty to keep the kids occupied… think they'll go for it?"

Paul leaned down to collect Adam from the back seat and grinned. Bella did the same for Noah. "You're amazing." He told her when they were at the front door.

They were finally home and Paul took a minute to close his eyes and rest. He'd survived his third tour, and he looked forward to some relaxation. He didn't know how much he'd get with a hyper toddler and a curious infant, but it would be just another challenge to overcome.

She denied it and went about the nightly routine of putting the boys to bed. Paul came behind her and helped where he could with whatever she asked of him. She knew he felt happy to be home and wanted to be close to his family so she didn't deny him. He'd been away for a long time, he needed to be close now.

An hour later found Paul and Bella in the living room with nothing but the light from the fireplace and the Christmas tree to see each other. Each of them held a flute of red wine in their hands and both were content to sit in the quiet of the house. Bella sighed and shifted to lay in Paul's waiting arms. She tilted her head back and grinned when her eyes met his.

"I love you, Paul Lahote."

He smiled and kissed the crown of her head. "I love you, Bella Lahote."

"I think I've loved you since we were kids." She confessed.

"Yeah, I was stupid back then…I was into cars… and cheerleaders." He teased causing her to huff. She remembered Lauren and Jessica drooling over him every day. "Good thing Jay knocked some sense into me. I'd have missed one of the best things in my life."

"Never… I'd have stolen you away from the cheerleaders. After all… what do they know about cars and rock music?" She teased.

Paul grinned. "You hung around us too much. We turned you into a gear head."

She shrugged but didn't deny it. "Did you ever think you'd NOT be in a unit with the guys after boot camp?" She wondered.

"It was a possibility. But I guess we all got lucky." He mused.

"You've always been lucky baby." She teased.

He leaned her face back so he could see her eyes. "You make me lucky."

She grinned and moved to kiss him. Just a sweet kiss of affection placed to the corner of his lips; The kind of kiss lovers share when there were no words left to be spoken. The kind of kiss given when there no need to prove how in love two people are was needed.

"I'm so glad you made it home for Christmas." She whispered.

Paul hugged her to him. "There's no place I'd rather be, baby girl."


	4. Rules of Mistletoe

**Title:** Rules of Mistletoe

**Pairing**: Bella/ Jake

**Rating**: T

**Genre:** friendship, romance

**Summary: **

Bella is the new girl in town, coming to live with her Uncle Charlie after her parents are murdered. She's also a tomboy with two brothers who have both taught her to throw a ball, throw a punch and hold her own against the players in the world. She draws attention to herself when the JV football captain sees her in the batting cages. He swears by Christmas she's gonna be his.

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~) **

Jacob Black had always been a patient kid. It had dwindled once he'd started his sophomore year of school, but not by much. Edward Cullen had moved into town and had started trying to steal any good spot light from Jacob for himself. Now, at the start of his junior year of school, he could only sigh as he tried to stay awake. He hated math, detested it even. Add to it, a teacher who loved to drone on and on about the importance of numbers and he felt as though he'd go mad before the class ended. Did he have a whole year of this hell?

By the time the bell rang for lunch, Jacob felt ready to throttle poor Mrs. Hoffman. His two best friends flanked him, both of them laughing like hyenas. Their friend Jared Cameron met them in the hallway with a raised eyebrow. "Do I want to know?"

Jacob rolled his eyes. "No… they're being idiots. As usual."

"What's up Jay?" Embry asked, giving Jacob a playful shove.

"I just came out of the front office. Mr. Chase doesn't like my sarcasm apparently." Jared shrugged.

Jacob shook his head. "First month of school and you're already in trouble.. Why am I not surprised?"

Jared grinned. "Yeah, well it was worth it. you'll never guess what I overheard while I sat in the office."

Quil arched an eyebrow. "Well?"

"Did you know the Old Henshaw place got sold the chief of police? He apparently wanted a bigger space." Jared hedged.

Embry nodded. "Yeah, my mom sold it to him. She said his niece and two nephews will be living with him. They should be here like next week or so."

"Yeah, well, they're here." Jared supplied as they walked to lunch.

"You saw them already?" Quil asked.

Jared nodded. "Yeah. They look nothing like Charlie. Well… maybe his niece and the one nephew. But the other one must have taken after his mom. The one is huge- maybe as tall as Sam. The other one looks like he could be adopted… blonde hair, skinny as hell.. but he's got muscles too- maybe a track star?" He said as they waited in the lunch line.

"Huh…" Jacob sounded impressed. "Wonder if the other one plays any sports."

Jared shrugged. They paid for their food and made their way over to their usual table. Paul Lahote, another senior and close friend sat regaling Sam Uley- Embry's step brother and Jacob's good friend- about the new girl decking Edward Cullen when he'd tried to hit on her and insult her brothers at the same time. They all shared a laugh at his expense upon hearing it.

The rest of the day had been uneventful. Rumors flew about the new kids and everyone surmised that they'd be starting any time from the next day to the next week. They'd been home from school when Jacob got his first glance of the new girl. He and his friends passed the park when they saw her.

"Holy hell… is that her?" He asked watching the brunette in question.

She looked petite and, in his mind, gorgeous. Her jeans were faded, her shirt fit her snug and her shoes looked well worn. He couldn't have been more turned on by her.

Jared nodded. "Yeah, that's her."

"And those are her brothers." Paul nodded towards the behemoths standing just feet from her.

Jacob watched as she stood behind the batter's plate with a baseball bat in hand. He watched the blonde on the thrower's mound smirking to his brother who stood behind her. "Think she'll hit it?"

"Swing and miss baby. Swing and miss." Quil mused.

"Home run." Embry quipped.

"Home run?" Sam teased.

"What, I'll give her the benefit of doubt." He said giving him a playful shove.

Jared and Paul sided with Embry as well. Quil's jaw dropped when the bat connected hard with the ball to send it flying towards the outfield. He couldn't help but clap, alerting the three to their presence.

Jacob smiled and nodded when they walked over. "You're the new girl, right?" Quil asked eying her up and down. Jacob only rolled his eyes, hating that they'd gotten off on the wrong foot already.

Her eyebrow arched. "You noticed that? Wow… you're smart aren't you?" Snickers abounded as Quil's friends chuckled at his expense.

"Don't be rude, Bella. I'm sure that's just his way of making conversation." The larger brother said while crossing his arms over his chest.

Bella rolled her eyes. "I'm sure." She quipped, not in the least bit phased.

"I don't know… the way he was lookin at her…" The blonde said while cracking his knuckles.

Bella only huffed. Jacob stepped in front of Quil along with Embry, in an effort to show a semi united front. "Easy… we don't want to fight. I'm Jake… this is Embry. That's Sam, Jared and Paul and the idiot with the loud mouth is Quil."

"I'm Emmett, this is Jasper. And this is Bella." The brunette said with a nod.

Paul grinned. "You guys play?" He asked holding up a football.

Emmett shrugged. "Some."

"Don't be modest, Em. You're brilliant." Bella grinned.

"Do you play too, Bella?" Jacob ignored the looks from his friends.

She shrugged. "Some."

"Wanna play now?" Embry asked, deciding to help his friend.

The siblings shared a look before Bella shrugged. "As long as we're home in time for me to cook dinner, sure."

Jared shook his head. "Dream woman." He mused.

"Not interested." She shot back.

Sam snickered. "Kim, Jay… Kim." He reminded.

"Can always dream." He teased.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Are we gonna play or are we gonna talk?"

Paul arched an eyebrow when Jasper walked over to the stands. "You don't play?" He wondered.

"Baseball." He grinned.

Jared huffed. "That sucks."

"No… that does." Emmett mused. He nodded towards a now smirking Bella. "She's a sneaky lil thing. And she hits hard too."

Sam arched an eyebrow. "But she's a girl… no offense… but just how hard can she hit?"

"She's bruised my ribs." He grinned.

It wasn't ten minutes later that Sam witnessed first hand just how hard Bella could tackle. She'd been taught how to hit by Emmett- a fullback on his old school team.

It took another ten minutes for Bella to tackle and pin Jacob under her. She smirked when she saw everyone staring at her with open mouths. She made four more tackles before they got smart and started taking her serious.

"So who taught you how to play that well?" Sam asked after their game finished and they walked home.

Bella smiled. "My dad. My mom tried to stop it. She wanted me to be a cheerleader or something. I just wanted to do what my brothers did."

Jacob nodded. He knew that pain. Most of his friends knew that pain. She didn't have to say it, her eyes gave away that she'd lost her parents. "You guys should come hang out sometime." He offered as they neared their house.

Bella gave him a shy smile. They made it another ten minutes before she and her brothers waved them goodbye. Jacob hung his head and moaned in frustration. He was already hooked.

"Issues, Jake?" Quil grinned.

Embry snickered. "Someone's crushin the new girl… hard."

"Dude, Jacob is smart to crush on her." Jared teased.

Sam shrugged at Jacob as if to say 'what can you do?'

Jacob only rolled his eyes. "She'll be mine by Christmas, just watch." His friends laughed as if the thought were hilarious. They'd forgotten how determined he could be.

By Halloween, he'd become a fast friend. He shared the loss of his mother. He even bonded with her over being the youngest sibling. He'd been surprised to learn that Emmett was only a year older and Jasper was only older by six months. Bella's dad had enjoyed his Houston business trips too well. His associate had become pregnant, but she had signed over rights to him as soon as Jasper had been born. That didn't mean Bella loved him any less than Emmett though.

By Thanksgiving, Jacob started to panic. He felt sure she knew he wanted to be more than friends. Even as innocent as her brother's claimed her to be, he knew she realized what she did to him every time she perched on his knee or curled up next to him on the couch. He feared he'd been friend zoned. When he expressed that fear to his friends, they only shook their heads and told him to be more patient. They'd brushed off his small bet and took him serious after the Halloween dance when he'd nearly knocked Edward's head clear off his shoulders for a less than appropriate comment made towards her.

The second week of December had rolled in and Jacob didn't know if he could take any more of just being her friend. They'd been watching a movie in his living room with 'the gang' as they'd taken to being called, when her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. She sighed and shook her head when she saw who had called her.

"What's up Bells?" Embry asked her.

She leaned in closer to Jacob, resting her head on his shoulder and growled when the phone rang again. "He won't leave me alone!"

"Who?!" They all asked at once.

Bella smiled. Sometimes her friends acted more protective than her brothers. She felt only too relieved that they were busy with girlfriends of their own at the moment. Her shoulders slumped when her phone rang yet again. It had been the third time in nearly ten minutes that it had sounded.

"Edward Cullen and I got paired together for a project in our history class. He does nothing but try to hit on me… he thinks I'll give in because he's popular or something and he drives a fancy car." Bella huffed.

Kim smirked. She swiped the phone from Bella's shocked hands, hitting the answer key before letting out a moan. "Hello?"

Quil's hand clamped over Bella's mouth to keep her from talking. This would be entertaining enough in it's own right.

"I'm sorry… mmmm.. Yeah… good girl just like that… Bella's occupied. She'll have to call you- ohhh yes! Right there! She'll have to…. Ohh yes! She'll call you later." Kim was a genius.

They could all hear Edward's stuttered apology before the phone went dead. The living room fell quiet for all of a minute before they erupted into a fit of giggles. Bella only shook her head. She stood up and headed into the kitchen to refill her glass and gasped when she bumped into Jacob on the way out again. He'd apparently had the same idea.

"Hey! Hey! Stop you two!" Sam crowed.

Jacob arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"Look up Jake." Paul smirked.

Jacob grinned while Bella bit her lip. Of course the girls all knew she liked Jacob. Did they all know? She glanced over to see them smirking and tried to get away with just a kiss on the cheek. They all made it quite clear they couldn't leave until a real kiss was shared.

"It's the rules!" Quil smirked.

They missed Embry pulling out Jacob's phone and hitting the record button. Kim had done the same thing to Bella's phone. It wouldn't be missed. Jacob took her glass from her hands and placed them both on the closest part of the counter he could reach before settling his hands on her waist.

"Bells…" His forehead pressed to hers. They'd grown close in their short time as friends, and Jacob's little display wasn't anything new to them. It put her at ease in an instant. She pressed her lips to his, not at all sure if she should be kissing the guy she considered to be her best friend. Wasn't this breaking a million and one rules?

The thoughts left her mind when Jacob pressed his own lips to hers, coaxing her tongue to glide against his. The physical proof of Jacob's attraction to her made itself known as her hands moved from his biceps up his shoulders to twine around his neck, holding on to him as tight as she dared.

When the need for air became too great, they broke apart before offering each other another more gentle kiss. The room had gone quiet as one by one their friends left. Jacob smoothed her hair down, tucking a few loose strands behind her ear.

"That wasn't just because of the mistletoe was it?" He felt scared to know the answer.

"No. I asked Embry if you liked anyone last month. He said there was a girl. So I kind of backed away. I didn't get it when he tried to hint it was me…" She told him with a blush.

"So does this mean I can ask you out now?" He grinned.

She laughed. "Yeah. It does. Are you?"

He pressed a kiss to her lips and grinned. "I am."

"Well…" She pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Then… yes…" She said in between kisses to his other cheek and finally another to his lips.

Their friends only shook their heads and watched from the living room window. Jacob had been right. Bella had been his with two weeks to go until Christmas.


	5. Season's Blessings

**Title:** Season's Blessings

**Pairing**: Quil/Bella

**Rating**: M

**Genre:** Romance

**Summary: **

A surprise among the imprints has the pack completely taken by surprise. Quil especially finds out just how much more he can love Bella for the blessing he's been given.

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie Meyer…

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~) **

Bella sighed and shook the snow out of her hair as best she could. She'd just come from the park- and a snowball fight with Angela Webber (soon to be Angela Call), Angela's twin brothers, Embry Call, Ashleigh Redfeather, Jacob Black and her boyfriend, Quil Ateara. She'd been in the process of brushing the snow off of her jacket when she heard her name being called.

"Bella! Hey, Bella!"

Bella turned to see who it was and sighed. She should have known. A whole year wasn't a long enough time to go without seeing him. She stopped and waited, only because she'd be scrutinized if word got out that she'd been rude for no real reason. Even if she didn't want to see him.

"Hey Mike, Tyler… How's it going?" She wondered.

They both shrugged. "College is college. You know? I nearly didn't come back. My mom had a hissy fit though and sent me the money herself." Mike shrugged.

Bella frowned. If there had been one thing she'd learned, family's everything. The pack had shown her that much.

"I nearly couldn't come. My boss forgot how far away I live. He had me scheduled to work the day I told him I'd be driving back." Tyler said, coming to Mikes rescue.

That she could understand. She nodded and smiled. Her own boss had done that a few times to her.

"So what's new with you? You back in town visiting?" Mike asked.

She had the urge to roll her eyes. "Kind of, I live in Port Angeles now. I'm down to spend the day with my friends. I'm taking classes at the community college and working there." She shrugged.

"Cool deal.. Where have you been working?" He asked eying her semi expensive jeans and jacket.

"I'm a secretary in a lawyers office. It's not glamorous, but it works." She shrugged. "The pay is decent."

"Cool. So you dating anyone?" Mike couldn't help but ask.

Bella smiled. "Yeah, I am. We've been together about a year now."

Tyler grinned. "That's awesome!" He said. "Personally, I never saw what you saw in Edward."

She shrugged. "I don't know either anymore."

"Hm.. Yeah, well you always had a thing for pretty boys, huh." Mike attempted to joke. Bella wasn't amused.

"Bella!" A new voice called.

She grinned. Quil must have felt her agitation. "Speak of the devil, and he shall appear… with friends no less." She said looking over their shoulders.

"Huh?" Mike asked, not understanding her meaning.

Tyler rolled his eyes and shared an amused grin with Bella. Her grin changed to an outright smile when Quil wrapped her in his arms. Even Tyler and Mike could see how much happier he made her.

"You ok Bells?" He whispered.

"Mhm. Quil, this is Tyler and Mike… I went to school with them. Guys, this is my boyfriend, Quil and his two best friends, Embry and Jake." She nearly giggled when Mike's eyes bulged out of his sockets.

Tyler did laugh. He said his goodbyes and dragged a still speechless Mike away. It took them a minute before the laughter started. Bella sighed and leaned into Quil's warm body after a gust of wind blew by them. On instinct, Jacob and Embry crowded around her as well, trying to keep her warm.

"Thanks for rescuing me from him. Tyler wasn't able to hold him off from being obnoxious for long." She grinned when they backed away.

"Always. Now come on, we have a pack night to get ready to attend later." He grinned.

"You three just want food." She huffed.

Quil pulled her further back into his body. "I could eat." He said with a smirk.

Her eyes closed and her lips parted as she let out a small gasp. Goose bumps rose over her arms when she felt him skim his nose over the flesh of her jaw. She shivered when she felt his teeth nipping at her neck.

"Ok, lovebirds! You're creating a scene." Embry warned when he noticed the teenage boys across the parking lot staring. Jacob only snickered.

Bella sighed and handed Quil her keys. She paid her three best friends back by talking about all the food she could possibly make for their pack get together. By the time they'd driven back to her and Quil's apartment and the truck got parked, Jacob and Embry had jumped from the back, eager to get into the house. They bounced from foot to foot as Bella took her time to step out of the cab and make her way to her door.

(~_~_~_~_~)

"Embry Call, if you try to sneak one more piece of pork out of that pan before its cooked, I swear I'll talk to Angela and have you cut off for a week!" Bella hissed smacking the back of his hand with a wooden spoon.

Embry's eyes widened in horror. They'd done that to the wolves before a time or two. All of the imprints used sex as their main weapon of choice next to food. Even Leah, who'd imprinted on a new wolf to the pack named Tristan, had used a sex ban before, knowing just how high a sex drive all the wolves had.

Embry raised his hands in a placating manner and backed away, freeing the space for Jacob to try his luck. It wasn't five minutes later that Bella had her wooden spoon in his face waving it around like a sword, threatening to tell Ashleigh about his behavior as well. Her other hand poised on her hip and Quil only shook his head. She'd just told him much the same thing she'd told Embry. He chuckled again and moved to soothe his frazzled mate.

He pulled her to him, tucking her against his chest with his arms around her waist. When she inhaled his scent and started to relax, he eyed the food and then motioned to his best friends to help themselves while he distracted her. They grinned and took a few pieces of pork from the pan before backing away again.

The wolves banned together too, the girls just didn't know it.

Bella sighed and rubbed her neck. She'd been cooking and baking for an hour at least and now she stood at the counter putting the last of the brownies into a container. Jacob and Embry had gone home after she'd made them lunch, promising to help her carry the food inside when she got to Emily's house. They'd been called to their own homes by their respective girlfriends and had left Quil and Bella alone.

She grinned when she felt Quil at her back, rubbing her shoulders. "You ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, just tired. I think the stress has been getting to me." She huffed.

Quil frowned. She'd been running herself into the ground trying to get everything finished before the holiday's hit. "You should relax, baby." He said leaving a trail of kisses from her shoulder to the mark he'd given her on her neck.

"I can't though. I've got to get these done, then I've got to get some laundry done or I'm not gonna have anything to wear to work tomorrow and you won't have any clean clothes for the week either. I've got to sit down and get the budget straight because I get paid tomorrow. Your check should be here in a couple days, right? Oh, and I've got a paper to work on as well." She sighed.

Bella sagged against him when he started massaging her shoulders again. She moaned when he gathered her into his arms. His lips found her neck once more and she sighed. She only nodded when he told her it could all wait. So long as she could feel his hands on her, everything else could be ignored for a while.

"Bella…" He whispered, his voice husky. Her groans and whimpers had gone straight through his body.

Her eyes peeked open and she looked over her shoulder at him, grinning when his lips laid claim to hers. She took his hand and led him down the hall to their bedroom. She felt it high time she pay him back for teasing her.

She pushed him to sit at the foot of the bed while she stood in between his legs and smirked at the anticipation in his eyes. Her hands moved to the button down shirt she wore, opening it one button at a time, exposing the creamy skin of her chest to his eager view. She let the cotton material slide down her arms before moving to run her hands from her shoulders down to the black lace bra that covered her breasts from him.

"You're so fucking gorgeous." He whispered, his hands moving from the backs of her thighs, around her waist and up her flat stomach to run over the lace. His thumbs brushed her nipples causing her to sigh. "You like that Bells?"

"You know I do." She whispered as her hands carded through his short hair. She rested her forehead against his, sighing at the feel of his heated fingers dancing over her body.

"You smell so good." He growled when her jeans and black lace thong were pulled down her thighs. She didn't notice that he'd even unfastened them.

"Quil…" She whispered placing kisses along his jaw.

He swallowed and pulled her down into his lap, his hands roaming over the smooth expanse of her back. He stopped to unfasten her bra, his lips finding the sensitive spot of her neck. He pulled the straps down her arms, throwing the lacey material to the ground as though it had offended him to touch.

Her breath hitched and her head tilted backwards to give him better access to her skin and his mark. She whimpered when he bit down on her flesh over the pulsing vein of her neck. He laved the bite with his tongue causing her to shiver. She rocked against him, huffing in frustration when she didn't find any kind of relief.

"Quil please." She whined.

He pulled her against him and inhaled the heady bouquet of her arousal. "What Bells? Please what?"

"I need you." She moaned.

He trailed kisses from her jaw to her ear before taking the lobe between his teeth. "You have me."

"I want you… please, baby… please." She whimpered.

He kissed her before standing with her still in his arms. One arm stayed around her waist and the other moved to yank the track pants he wore down his hips. They sighed in unison when his dick had been freed from the confinement of the fabric. She loved the feel of him and told him as much before sucking on a tender spot where his neck and shoulder met.

"Love you." He whispered before turning to place her towards the bed.

She smoothed a finger down his jaw, stopping to trace his full lower lip with her thumb before pulling him in for a brief kiss. He crawled over her prone form without breaking the kiss, moaning when she opened her mouth completely to him.

She loved the feel of his heat surrounding her. "Love you too, baby."

He slid into her heat, moaning when he was fully seated within her tight, wet walls. "Fuck, you feel so good." He growled.

"Dammit, Quil… move." She whined when he'd been still for a minute or two.

He smirked. "You want me to move Bells?" He teased, moving his hips, pulling and pushing only an inch or two within her tight pussy.

"Quil, please!" She shivered, her nails dragging down his back. She wrapped her legs around his waist and gasped when he slid that much deeper into her.

"God, baby, you feel so good wrapped around me." He whispered. He couldn't help but pick up the pace then. The wolf in him needed his mate and she begged so pretty for him.

It ended too soon for Quil, though he'd be proud that he'd taken her mind off of things and eased some of her stress. They lay side by side, breathing in each other as the room stilled around them. He curled around her, an arm resting protectively over her stomach as his eyes closed. He thought he'd heard an irregular pattern in her heartbeat but shrugged it away. They still hadn't caught their breaths, of course her heartbeat would be faster. He shook his head and sighed when he felt her fingers tracing random patterns over his arm.

"Love you." She whispered, finally drifting off too sleep. He smiled and kissed her temple, chasing her into her dreams.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Bella woke to a knock on her door before it opened. "Bella? Quil? You guys here?"

"Dude, use your nose! Fucker got lucky! Of course he's here."

She rolled her eyes and shook Quil. He moaned and pulled her comforter over them just before Jacob and Embry poked their heads into her room. She'd long ago lost her sense of modesty around the pack. They knew, but none of them drew attention to it for fear of repercussion from their own imprints.

"Wake up guys." Embry hissed.

Quil growled. "Go away fuckers. We're sleeping!"

"What time is it?" Bella sighed.

"Close to six. Emily asked us to come get you. Apparently she wants to talk to the imprints about something important." Jacob told them.

Embry inched closer to the bed, side stepping the pile of clothes that showcased Bella's lace under garments. His hand reached out to pull the comforter off of them, not aware that they weren't dressed. Quil growled, his wolf feeling threatened by his friends proximity to his unclothed mate.

"You touch that comforter, you die." He warned.

Embry rolled his eyes. "Get up then." He huffed before leaving.

Jacob laughed. "Come on guys. Emily's waiting."

By the time they made it to Emily's, she'd been bouncing with energy causing the wolves to chuckle. She yanked Bella's hand from Quil's and dragged her away to her bedroom. Bella frowned in surprise when she saw the rest of the imprints- as well as Leah- in much the same state of anxiety as Emily.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked, her gaze passing over each girl.

Emily sighed and guided Bella to the bathroom, handing her a box before closing the door behind her. "Just humor me, ok?"

Bella rolled her eyes until she looked down at the box. She moaned. One of them had gotten pregnant. She figured it to be a prank, so she did it to humor her friend. She wasn't pregnant so she didn't find the harm in taking the test. She gasped when she saw the results. Her face paled when she saw six similar results sitting on the counter. She opened the door with trembling hands and stared at her friends.

"Well?" Leah asked.

She swallowed and nodded. "How'd you know?"

Leah sighed. "Mating season." She grumbled.

"But no one said anything…"

"No one knew… I read the journals… I mean… wild wolves have a mating season… why not supernatural ones?" Leah sighed.

"So you're all…" She fell off at the end.

They all nodded anyways.

"I've been tired… but I thought it was stress… but my period…"

"Didn't come." They all said at once.

A knock on the door alerted them to the wolves in the hallway. As a unit, they stood and moved to the living room. It had been completely silent for a few minutes, adding to the unease the wolves felt. When asked what was wrong, the girls shrugged. They'd come to a silent decision to wait until they were in private to tell their respective wolves the good news. At least until Seth heard it.

"What IS that?" He huffed finally getting annoyed by the feint fluttering.

Jared raised an eyebrow at him. "You sure you're not hearing things kid?"

"I've got the best hearing out of all of you and I'm telling you, I can hear something." Seth said as he rolled his eyes.

A shout from the bathroom caused Emily to pale. She'd forgotten about the tests. Sam came out stuttering, which sent the rest of the wolves to investigate. Seth came out in peals of laughter.

"I don't see how its funny…" Paul huffed.

He snorted. "Oh I do…"

"Why is that, Seth?" Jacob finally asked after remembering how to speak.

Seth only smirked. "Because the pack is gonna have pups."

Seth, Collin, Brady and the girls all laughed at the sight of grown men dropping in a dead feint.

"Vampires, they can handle." Leah mused.

"Imprinting, they can handle." Emily grinned.

"Becoming daddies? Not even close." Bella chuckled.

"Disgraceful." Kim snickered.

Bella sighed. Life was full of little blessings. As far as she'd been concerned, she'd been given two of the best. Her mate, and, now her child. She didn't need anything more than that.


	6. Winter's Eve

**Title:** Winters Eve

**Pairing**: Paul/Bella

**Rating**: M

**Genre:** Romance, Friendship, Family

**Summary: **

Paul's been state side for a year spending time with his family and working base security with his unit. When the opportunity knocks, Paul takes a chance to show Bella how much he still loves her.

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie Meyer…

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~) **

Bella sighed and brushed her hair out of her face. She tucked a few strands of her chestnut curls behind her ear and went back to washing the last of the dishes she's used to prepare dinner. She had everything ready to place in the oven when the time came. She smiled when she heard the back door open. Giggling overtook the silence of the house letting her know her family had come home from the park.

Paul had been state side for the last year along with the rest of the boys in his unit. She and her friends couldn't have been happier. It meant not having worry about their safety. It meant no fear of exploding vehicles or ambushes or gunshots. Jared had been lucky on their last tour when he'd been shot in the neck. He had completely healed but it had still been scary to think about for her.

"Baby?" A deep voice called.

"In the kitchen, Paul." She yelled, giggling when her kids danced around her legs a moment later. They both talked at once and she barely had time to answer one question before they asked the next one.

Paul leaned on the door frame just watching her tend to their kids. Adam had turned five and had just started kindergarten. Noah had turned out to be a fast learner and, at 21 months, had both he and Bella ready to pull their hair out on some days with his cleverness. Being around adults all day helped too. He grinned when she finally freed herself and gave her attention to him.

"Have fun?" She asked wrapping her arms around his neck.

He nodded and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Of course." He muttered covering her lips with his own.

They broke the kiss apart with a laugh when Adam and Noah whined in disgust. "What's wrong boys?" Paul asked.

"Mommy! Eww!" Noah whined.

"Don't give kisses!" Adam added.

Paul smirked and winked at Bella. "Why not guys? I like your mommy's kisses."

"But girls have germs!" Adam huffed. "And if you catch them then you won't be able to come in my room and play with my trains anymore!" He added.

Bella couldn't help but laugh. "Is that so?" She asked. Before they could answer she swooped down and planted a kiss each on their little cheeks.

"EWW! Mommy!" Adam whined running away. Noah followed, both of them wiping at their cheeks.

"One day, you're going to like a girl kissing you." Paul mused.

Bella huffed. "Not yet!" She warned.

Paul only shook his head. Bella didn't like the thought of her boys dating. No girl would be good enough for them. He smirked and thought of Quil. He felt as protective of Claire as Bella did of their boys. It made him wonder if she'd let them try for another one. He wanted a girl of his own.

"My dad called while you were gone. He'll be here in an hour or so. He and Tiffany stopped to get them dinner first." She informed him stealing him from his thoughts.

"You know… we've been back for a year and it STILL shocks me that they got married. Embry's my brother- in -law… how weird is that?" Paul huffed.

Bella smirked. "Not weird for me at all."

"Well duh, baby. You were here to see it. They didn't say a word to us until we got home and then, oh by the way, we got married after you left and you're now family." Paul teased.

Bella shrugged. She dried her hands and turned to face him with her hands braced on the counter behind her. "You'll survive." She grinned when he pouted.

"I love you." He sighed. He said it to her every time she proved him wrong.

She smiled. "Love you too. Now, come on boys. Lets go get you packed to stay with grandpa and grandma."

"Do they have to go?" Paul sighed while winking at his wife. His boys stopped and looked at him curiously. He grabbed them to him lifting them into the air. "We could just keep them here forever and ever with us and never let them go anywhere again!" He crowed while tickling them, grinning when their squeals of laughter and protest filled the air.

Bella looked on with a fond smile on her lips as her boys let loose peals of laughter. She and Tiffany had been talking and the topic had changed to anniversary plans. Bella had told her they would stay home and watch a movie with the boys. Charlie had then offered to give them a weekend to themselves. Paul had been overseas for their last one. Since then they'd been focused on the boys and work. The two needed a weekend alone. At least it was what Tiffany had said.

"Come on handsome. Let's get the boys packed." She said again.

He grinned. "You're the boss, baby."

"Mommy's not baby! Mommy big!" Noah giggled.

"Duh! Mommy's a lady! She can't be a baby! Then she wouldn't be our mommy!" Adam huffed.

Paul grinned. "Of course she is." He looked right at Bella. "She's the most beautiful woman I know."

"Flatterer." Bella smiled.

"Yeah, but you love me." Paul said with confidence.

Bella grinned. "Of course I do. I wouldn't put up with you otherwise." She shrugged.

A knock on the door had him frowning. Charlie and Tiffany were early. "I'll let them in, they're only an hour early."

Bella nodded and ushered the boys off down the hallway. It wouldn't take them long to pack. She'd been a military wife long enough to know how to get things done quick by now.

"Can I help you?" Paul asked when the door opened to the view of a petite woman with shoulder length blonde hair and too much make up on her face. Even her perfume made Paul want to gag- he only just managed to hide that fact.

The blonde standing there smiled. "Yes, I'm a friend of Isabella's. is she home?" She purred.

Her voice and smile were sweet, but the way her eyes roved over Paul's frame made him frown. He had gotten used to the attention from women around the base. They commented on his good looks but they stopped when they saw his ring. This one, however, he wasn't too sure of just yet. Something about her said trouble.

A voice behind her caused his eyes to widen some. Kim- Jared's Kim- stood glaring at the woman. "Hello, Karen."

"Kim… what a surprise." Karen sounded less than happy.

"I didn't know Bella expected to see you today. You didn't say anything when I talked to you at the gym with Angela."

Paul eyed the two to make sure there wouldn't be an issue. He didn't need a fight to break out in his front yard- his commander would have a field day with that one. Catty. That had to be the first word that came to mind as he watched them. They acted catty towards one another.

"Oh, no. I just wanted to drop these off before I forgot. I'm going to be late for my massage." Karen said pulling a few Tupperware dishes from her large shoulder bag. "Isabella left them at my house the last time she came to visit. My husband loves her pecan pie. I had hoped she'd give me the recipe this time." She said eying Paul up and down again.

Kim bristled, having seen it. "It's too bad you can't stay. I'm sure Bella would love to talk." She growled. "Paul, are the boys still here? Noah left his monkey at my house earlier I want him to have it for tonight."

"Yeah… um.. Bella's getting them packed now." He muttered.

Paul had never seen Kim so hostile. He took the dishes from Karen. "Let me just grab Bella."

"Oh, no need. She sounds busy. Just tell her I stopped by to give those back? It was lovely to finally meet you, Paul." She purred.

Kim growled. "Have a wonderful day, Karen." She hissed before Paul closed the door as the woman sashayed down the driveway.

Paul stared at Kim, nearly too afraid to move. "I clearly missed something. I just don't know I missed." He mused.

"Oh, you bet you did. Bella?" She called.

"Hang on Kim. Brace yourself!" Bella shouted.

"Aunt Kimmie!" Adam barreled into her open arms causing both her and Paul to chuckle. Noah followed close behind, his little legs not as long as his big brothers just yet.

Bella frowned when she saw the dishes in Paul's hand. "Paul… baby…. Why do you have those?" She asked.

Paul blinked. That wasn't a tone she'd used too many times with him.

"Um… Karen gave them back…" He tried.

Bella's eyes closed. A knock on the door saved her from a tirade. Charlie and Tiffany told them sorry for being early, but they'd anticipated more traffic on the way to the house. Bella kissed her boys goodbye and thanked Charlie and Tiffany again, promising them she'd see them on Sunday night.

"Ok… I'm going back to rescue Jared from Savannah… let him know about that she-devil." Kim huffed, kissing their cheeks.

Paul waved her off and leaned against the door once it closed. "What happened and do we need to know about it?" He asked.

'We' meant base police and his unit.

"No… she's… ugh. Her husband transferred in a few months ago. She's tactless. She goes after married men… if the rumors are to be believed. She's been to the house a few times- thankfully when you've been at work. She always comments on how the boys are as handsome as you. I swear if I see her eying you the way I've seen her eye Jared or Jake… even Sam… I'll carve her eyes out with a dull spoon." Bella hissed.

Paul should have been worried. Bella wasn't usually a violent person, but seeing her so possessive of him had the opposite effect on him; he liked knowing that she felt that way. He belonged to her, and she belonged to him. They'd promised each other on the day they married that nothing would come between them. They'd known each other since they'd been small children, and so far, that promise of a forever kind of love had held.

"Come here baby? Please?" He kissed the top of her head when she fell into him.

"Sorry. I don't mean to sound so possessive. But you're my husband. She needs to know that. For her own safety of course." Bella sighed.

Paul grinned. He lifted her up, causing her to squeal and wrap her arms and legs around him so she wouldn't fall. He carried her into the living room and sat on the couch. There were still a few Christmas decorations that needed to be put up, but Bella had done an amazing job so far. He sat with her in the quiet until he felt her relax.

"Bella… I love you. You're it for me. I mean.. look around us. There's no way I'd want to be anywhere else." He said motioning to the boys' Christmas decorations and all the pictures of their family that adorned the walls.

Bella sighed. "I know.. Just… I've seen the way she looks at other men. I've seen the way **they** look at her.. Sad as it is. I'm not 18 anymore, Paul. She's been 20 for three _months_. And she has no kids so she can do whatever she wants… and she looks gorgeous…."

"Bella… with all due respect, just hush. She's got nothing on you. I've known you my whole life. You've been my best friend for a long time… and you're the mother of my boys. Yeah.. We're not that young anymore, but baby, you are by no means old and you're still gorgeous. I don't even _like _blondes... remember?" He teased.

She grinned. "Thank you baby."

"I should tell you that more often." He frowned.

Bella laughed. "No I should stop being a wimp. It's Christmas time and I'm being a grouch."

"You are not." He huffed. His fingers ran down her sides causing her to jump away. His lips quirked. He'd forgotten she was ticklish.

"Do not even **think** about it." She warned.

Within seconds, Paul had her pinned down on the couch with his fingers running over her sides. He grinned when she laughed and squirmed away from him. Her sour mood seeped away from her with his efforts and when he stopped his assault, she lay panting on the cushions with her cheeks flushed. He'd never seen a more beautiful sight.

He leaned down to kiss her, one of his hands cupping her cheek while the other carded through her hair. The tension grew more thick as he hovered over her, deepening their kiss. It had been so long since they'd had a moment to just be together without being bombarded by squeals of discomfort from one of their kids. Paul relished the feel of her body under his, the way her lips fit to his and the sounds of her growing need and desire for him.

"Paul…" His name left her lips in a quiet whisper as she kissed her way from his jaw to his shoulder.

"Bella… I want you." He murmured.

Their eyes met again and Bella inhaled when he rolled his hips into hers allowing her to feel the growing need he had for her. Her head tilted backwards granting him access to her delicate, porcelain skin as he searched out the sensitive spot on her neck.

Clothes were stripped in a hurry and before she could think, he had filled her completely. They rocked together, slow and sweet. It wasn't enough. Her nails ran down his back as her legs wrapped tight around his waist. He got the message loud and clear. She didn't need slow and sweet right now.

It ended too soon for both of them. They both lay panting on the couch wrapped in each others arms. He pulled her close and kissed her temple. "I love you Bella."

"I love you too, Paul." She murmured, kissing his chest right over his heart.

Paul grinned and pulled the blanket from the back of the couch to cover them both. His last thought before he fell asleep was that he did like the winter time; nearly as much as he liked holding his wife.


	7. Christmas Presents

**Title:** Christmas Present

**Pairing**: Seth/Bella

**Rating**: M

**Genre:** Hurt/Comfort, Romance

**Summary: **

Bella lost Charlie on Christmas eve. It takes the help of a single wolf to show her that it's ok to be sad and the pain eventually fades.

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie Meyer…

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~) **

Bella sighed and placed a single red rose across the top of a slate grey tombstone. '_In Loving Memory: Charles Swan - Beloved friend and father_' It'd been a year; Come Christmas eve, the anniversary of her father's death would hit her full force. He'd been working in place of one of the other officers under him. The man had a wife in labor and Charlie had told him to go be with her. He'd been tailing what he thought to be a drunk driver. He never saw the creature in the back feeding from the man. When the car had come to a stop, Charlie had been the next victim.

"I miss you dad…" She whispered kneeling to kiss the cold stone.

The wolves watching her- her friends- had seen her heading towards the graveyard and grew concerned by it. They gave her the space she said she needed, but they refused to let her cut them off from her. Even Paul, who at one point hated her because of her affiliation with the Cullens, had warmed up to and now called her a friend.

They'd watched her fly off to Italy, rescue her ex, then come home and tell him to take a hike. It'd shocked them all until they realized that Bella had been mentally scarred because of what happened in the forest. She'd been told she wasn't worthy and then, no thanks to a sick mind game played by a hundred and something year old vampire, she'd been forced to endure even more emotional abuse. This time it came in the faces of the innocent tourists that haunted her nightmares.

"Sam, what do we do?" Jared wondered, sitting on his haunches. His brown fur blended in nearly perfect with the leaf litter on the outskirts of the graveyard.

The great Black wolf rested his head on his massive paws and sighed. "I wish I knew how to help her. I don't like seeing her like this. She's existing, but little else."

"What about Quil? Or Leah? Or Paul or Embry? They've all dealt with not having a dad." Brady asked from Jared's other side.

Jared huffed. "They don't want to talk about it and say something to upset her. And Paul and Embry didn't have dads at all. They know but they don't know at the same time."

"Leah just doesn't wanna deal with the tears." Brady mused.

Sam growled. "This does nothing to help Bella at the moment. Now both of you shut it. And Brady? Go home if you're not going to be helpful."

Brady whined and rested his head on his paws. "Sorry, Sam."

Bella's head turned so she could see over her shoulder while her body still faced the front. She smiled when she saw Sam come to rest beside her, paying his respects to a man he'd looked at as a second dad. "I miss him like crazy."

"You always will." He finally said.

"I was so awful… I never told him I loved him… he'll never see me married now… he'll never get to meet his first grandchild…" Bella sniffed, trying to keep the sobs at bay.

Sam gathered her into his arms. "He'll still see you. He's still protecting you… he's just doing it from Heaven now."

She clung to him, her face buried in his neck. "Thanks Sam… for everything."

"Silly pale face." He quipped, his voice laced with affection.

She rolled her eyes. "Dumb dog." She muttered, frowning when he laughed.

"Come on, Emily wants to see you. You've been avoiding us again." He mused.

She ran her fingers over Jared's nose when he joined the two. "I'm sorry. Things have been… hectic lately." She tried.

She giggled when Brady nudged her with his massive head. "I feel like a dog right now…" He whined.

"Yeah, but she's laughing. We're doing something right." Jared chuffed before pouncing on Brady.

Bella giggled at their antics, their playfulness lifting her spirits some. Sam only sighed and started his way through the woods. It took them next to no time to make their way onto the reservation with his sense of direction. By the time they got to his home, Paul, Embry, Kim and Emily had just finished setting the table for dinner. Paul and Embry engulfed her in hugs, letting her know she'd been missed. She thanked them and sat in between Emily and Paul.

The large silver wolf watched her as she pushed her food around on her plate, trying to make it look like she'd been eating. He wasn't her imprint, but he didn't like to see her not eating. He took to shoving pieces of meat onto her plate- in effect feeding her. Sam only smirked at his third in command. Paul as a man didn't realize how much control his wolf had at the moment. He only knew he felt more than pleased when Bella finally gave in and started to eat.

They all were. She couldn't afford to lose any more weight.

An hour after dinner had finished found Bella curled up on Sam's back porch swing. She sat gazing up at the near cloudless sky, lost in her thoughts. The full moon glistened on the snow that covered the ground but she never noticed a wolf walking towards her startling her by footsteps on the stairs.

"Easy Bella, it's just me. It's Seth. I didn't mean to spook you." He said.

"Hey Seth. You didn't spook me… much." She told him offering a small smile. "I got lost in my thoughts, that's all." She said with a sigh.

He smiled. "I can see that. Can I?" He motioned to the seat beside her, asking first before he took a seat.

"Sure, sure." She said scooting over to give him space.

Silence fell around them as they basked in the beauty of the full moon together. Seth noticed her shiver when a gust of wind blew around them and chuckled. He pulled her closer, allowing his body heat to warm her. He sighed, relieved that she didn't shove him away, opting instead to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Seth." She said finally.

He only nodded. "It's not problem, Bella." He said with a sigh.

He tried to keep his voice light instead of letting the bitterness take hold. He'd been prepared to finally tell her about his imprint on her last year. Her dad had been killed first, and since then he'd been giving her a lot of space. Sam and Jacob were the only ones who knew about it, and both of them had tried multiple times to make him tell her. He refused, saying she just needed a friend. He had to be anything she needed and he refused to push her to do anything while she still felt so sad. So he suffered in silence.

His sighs caught her attention and alerted her to the sadness he hadn't pushed away fast enough. She lifted her head from his shoulder and frowned as she studied his profile. The stubborn set to his jaw, the way he looked out at the trees…. Something had to be wrong. He seemed so calm, but there were physical signs of distress he just couldn't hide from her. He had a slump in his shoulders, a frown on his lips and bags under his eyes.

"Hey, Seth, are you ok?" She tried.

He smiled, but his eyes said otherwise. "I'm fine, why?"

"You sure? You know you can talk to me, right?" She pressed again. "You look so sad." She mused running a finger down his face.

He sighed. "I'm fine. Just a few things on my mind." He promised.

"If you're sure." She said with a frown.

He grinned. "Things have a way of working themselves out. It'll be ok."

The pack rushing out of the back door caught their attention. Jared rubbed his temples while Paul and Embry shivered. Clearly something had happened to upset them. It took him a minute to listen before Seth only snickered. He shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Did you get told to leave or did you high tail it out first?" He teased.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Shut up, pup. Just because you have the best ears out of all of us… Give a guy SOME warning will you?" He huffed.

Bella arched an eyebrow. "Do I even want to know?"

"Nope." Jared sighed. "I wouldn't go in there right now if I were you either."

Bella turned to Seth for an explanation when the wolves walked away. "Sam and Emily are occupied." He snickered. He didn't even blush anymore.

"Oh… um… should we… oh crap… I don't even have my truck." Bella sighed.

Seth grinned. "come on then… walk with me to the house and I'll drive you home." He said.

"Seth, you don't have to do that! I couldn't ask you to go out of your way." She told him. "I can just crash at Jake's house."

Seth rolled his eyes, squashing down his anger and jealousy. The emotions felt foreign to him and he didn't like them. "Come on Bella. It's fine."

"Thanks, Seth." She finally conceded.

She bit her lip before snuggling into his side as they walked. It should have worried her that she clung to him the way she did.. like an imprint. But the wind had started picking up and he felt warm.

Seth was only 16 now, but being a wolf earned him a stipend and a home of his own along with looking at least 25. Bella had always loved coming to Seth's place. It felt quaint, and quiet. Most of the pack- save for Brady and Collin- stayed away at his request. They saw him at Sam's so they didn't feel the need to harass him in his home. She gasped when they walked up his driveway.

"Yeah, mom and Leah came by to decorate it. It was a shock to me until I saw the note." He sighed. "I wasn't gonna do much to it this year."

That shocked her. "But, you love Christmas. It's one of your favorite holidays…" She frowned.

"Yeah, I know… just… don't feel too festive this year." He shrugged.

She frowned. "Seth, please… talk to me? What's wrong? You said you have a lot on your mind. I usually wouldn't press, but I know from experience that it's not good…"

He kissed her cheek. "It's just some stuff to work through, don't worry about it Bella." He grinned and pointed to the overhang above them. "Leah's idea… get them at the front door."

"That wasn't a kiss. You're not supposed to kiss the cheek unless it's the same sex…" She said before she thought.

He smirked and cupped her cheek. This wasn't the happy go lucky kid she had grown to know. The intensity in his eyes shot through her body, awakening a slumbering ember of passion within the lower pit of her belly. She swallowed hard as her eyes darted back and forth between his. Her hands moved to his chest when he stepped closer, sealing the distance between them with his body.

"Do you want me to kiss you, Bella?" He asked, his voice low and husky.

Did she? This was Seth… their dads had been best friends since they had both been little. But she knew him. She was comfortable with him. The buried thoughts of him rushed to the surface as she stepped closer, completely closing the gap between their bodies. Seth happened to be more wolf than man at the moment and she couldn't have been more attracted to him if she tried.

"Seth… what's happening?" She asked when he brushed her lips with his. He found himself becoming addicted to her scent. He found the worry and arousal a heady mixture indeed, threatening to push the wolf into complete control.

His lips left a trail from her neck to her jaw before claiming her lips in a kiss that she swore stole the breath from her lungs. "You're mine… always have been." He whispered against the shell of her ear.

"I don't… I don't understand…" She tried to think past the fog of lust that had settled over her mind- tried to understand the meaning behind his words.

"I imprinted on you last year… I thought I could handle just being a good friend.. But dammit Bella… I love you." He sighed. The wolf clawed and snarled trying to break free again.

Her eyes went wide and her mouth hung open in shock. "You never said anything… at all. You let me hang all over your brothers… let me date…"

"Yeah…" Seth nodded. "I did."

He'd done well considering.

She hugged him tight to her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Hey… don't. You don't need to apologize." He cooed. She didn't respond save for the gentle press of her lips to his.

"You still haven't kissed me." She mused.

He grinned and pulled her into the house. The wind had picked up again and he didn't want to risk getting her sick. As soon as the door closed he backed her up against the hard wood. His lips brushed hers again and he moaned when her arousal wafted to his nose once more. Without hesitation, he pressed his lips to hers.

Something changed. Bella mused that maybe it had to be her trying to make the past year up to him, or maybe it had to be because, for a 16 year old, Seth happened to be an amazing kisser. But something had shifted. A new kind of tension filled the air now as she thought of all the dreams she'd pushed from her mind about how his hands would feel running down her naked body. Or how it would feel to be held in his arms as a lover not as a friend. Or how it would feel to have him buried deep inside of her.

She moaned while their lips remained connected. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself flush to his body, gasping when she felt him- hot, hard and definitely wanting- through the fabric of their jeans. She gasped again when she heard the deep rumbling growl through Seth's chest as his wolf made its presence known as well.

"Seth…"

He shivered and backed away. "We can stop.." He told her mistaking his name on her lips as a means to tell him to stop.

"I accept it… I accept this… I accept you." She murmured with her hand on his cheek.

His eyes widened as he searched her eyes for any signs of deceit. "You sure?"

"Completely." She grinned.

He swooped in, taking her lips with his, moaning when she jumped into his arms without breaking the kiss. Her nails raked through his hair as her legs wrapped around his waist. He held her with a hand under her ass to keep her from falling while the other hand moved to lock the door. He carried her back to his room opting to open his blinds instead of using a lamp to see her.

Their clothes were stripped before he sank down onto the bed, crawling over her prone form. His muscles bunched and flexed as he moved to cover her body with his own, leaving little kisses and nips along her torso as he went.

She'd never seen this side of him. He looked so grown up in this moment- nothing like the cheerful boy she thought she'd known. She could feel him as he settled some of his weight against her, teasing her. She wondered if he knew she wasn't a virgin- that she and Embry had gotten drunk one night after Charlie had died and fallen into bed together. She'd not been with anyone else since then.

Of course, Seth had known- they all did- but he couldn't begrudge her any of it. Embry either. He'd not known about the imprint. Seth had told him he found it messed up that he'd done anything with her while she'd been that drunk. To that, Embry had nodded in agreement and hadn't stopped apologizing for it yet.

Now though, now she was his. "You sure, Bella? Once this happens… wolves mate for life…" He whispered.

She smiled. "I'm sure." She whispered.

"Love you." He whispered in her ear as he pushed into her.

Their coupling was slow and sweet- everything Bella had imagined it being. He took the time to show her how amazing he thought she was and brought them both over the edge into nirvana together. As soon as they crested the wave, his teeth sunk into her skin deep, causing her to crash again, his name falling from her lips in a breathless cry.

They lay together afterwards, wrapped in a tangle of limbs, basking in the peace they both finally felt. Seth only started when he smelled the salt of her tears. "Bella?! Are you ok? Did I hurt you? Do you need something? What can I do?"

She smiled. "I'm ok. I'm just letting my dad know that I'm gonna be ok."

Seth sighed. "We both are. I promise." He kissed her temple and pulled the sheet over them both.

"Thank you Seth." She whispered, sleep close to claiming her.

He kissed her again. "For what?"

"My early Christmas present." She murmured.

"What was that?" He couldn't help but ask.

She kissed his chest over his heart. "You."


	8. Tied With A Bow

**Title:** Tied With A Bow

**Pairing**: Sam/ Bella

**Rating**: M

**Genre:** Romance

**Summary: **

Bella and Sam are fast coming on their first Christmas as husband and wife. After a pack meeting in which Jacob agrees to step up to become alpha, Sam heads home to find Bella tied up in nothing but a large bow laying on their bed. He has to thank the spirits for giving him such a patient mate- after taking care of his neglected wife first.

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie Meyer…

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~)**

Sam Uley had been a wolf for nearly five years running. He'd trained the current pack: Jared Cameron, Paul Lahote, Embry Call, Jacob Black, Quil Ateara, Seth Clearwater, Brady Fuller and Collin Littlesea. He'd protected them. He'd fought for them against their parents and the tribal council if he felt they'd been harassed. But five years had been a long time for him to stay Alpha. It wasn't meant to be his title and if he hadn't phased first, he would have only been the beta of the pack liked his grandfather before him.

He sighed and flipped through the channels on the TV. Friday night meant that come time to change patrols, there would be hungry wolves walking into his living room- like every week. He only leaned his head back against the back of the couch and sighed again. A car parking drew his attention outside to the driveway. His wolf stirred within him- his mate had just gotten home.

"_Of course… yes, mom, I know.. Of course… yes, mom I have to go… yeah, I'm walking in now…. No mom…. Yes… alright… I'll talk about it later. I want some time with my husband before he goes to work. No… moooom! No! you're not getting a grand-baby yet! I have to go mom. I love you too…. Yes, I'll let him know you said hi… bye mom, I'm hanging up now_!"

Sam shook his head.

His wonderful wife. It was nearly five at night and she had **just** gotten home from work.

Bella had been seduced and then abandoned by the same family of vampires that had sworn their love for her. It took the girl months to claw her way back from the abyss. The wolves had been there to help, having found out what they had done to her. They'd learned in the journals how powerful a vampires allure could be. Seeing it first hand with Bella, watching her forget herself had struck a cord with them.

Sam had been the one to find her. His wolf had taken to her instantly while Sam himself took more convincing that the waif of a girl he'd rescued would share the rest of his life with him. She'd been with him for four years but she'd only just taken his last name the past spring. She'd wanted to wait until she'd gotten her degree in teaching- something Sam had supported.

"Sam?" Bella called.

He smiled. "In here baby girl." He frowned when he saw how harried she looked. "What's wrong beautiful?"

"My mom… she's on the baby kick again." Bella said with a roll of her eyes and a small huff as she hung her jacket in the front closet.

Sam grinned. "You know you're gonna give in to her wishes one of these days." He teased.

"Too much, way too soon. We have enough on our plates with a pack of overgrown puppy dogs waltzing in and out of here every day." She quipped.

He nodded and sighed. "I know. I'll talk to them again."

"No! baby, no… I didn't mean it as a bad thing. I promise." She said while sliding into his lap. "I love having them here… just not at all hours of the night. Brady and Collin scared the hell out of me this past weekend… I would love some warning if we're going to have them here."

His lips found the skin of her neck, teasing the mark he'd given her after they were wed- the night they'd first lain together as husband and wife. "I love you." He whispered. "And I love you in this outfit." He said nodding to the white button down blouse and black pencil skirt. Her heels were three inch stilettos and caused Bella to smile when she saw the lust growing in his eyes.

"Have you eaten yet?" She asked changing the topic on purpose.

Sam ran his nose along the skin of her jaw before his lips found her earlobe. "I could eat you." He purred.

His phone buzzing on the coffee table caused them both to sigh. "I'm gonna go get changed then make dinner." She said kissing his lips while he opened the text.

"Hold off on dinner baby. Jake asked me to meet him at his place. He said it's important and asked me to call a pack meeting." He said, his voice laced with worry and confusion.

"I'll pull stuff out for fajitas then I'm gonna grade some papers and maybe read for a while. Wake me up when you come back?" She asked.

He watched her sashaying down the hallway and grinned. "Of course. I'll be back soon baby."

"Love you Sammy!" She called from their room.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Sam sighed but couldn't hide the grin on his face. He'd done it. Jacob Black had done it. He'd stepped up- finally -and taken over as alpha. It felt like a breath of fresh air for Sam. There hadn't been any fighting and no challenges. The entire pack had been present. Even Sam's wolf had been content with the change. He hadn't even fought when it came time to submit to Jacob's wolf; It meant extra time with their mate.

He checked the time on his phone. Only an hour had passed from the time he'd left Bella to the time he made his way home. The elders had been present to witness it, and even Jacob's imprint- Bella's best friend Angela- had been there.

"Thank you Taha Aki!" He muttered as he made his way into the house.

He locked the front door- for the first time in forever- and moved to do the same with the back door. He'd just gained a tremendous amount of spare time- he wouldn't be giving it up any time soon. Even if Jacob had asked him to be beta- something he hadn't expected but had none the less been pleased with none the less.

"Baby? You awake?" He could have just listened and snuck up on her, but he didn't want to startle her if she happened to be awake. The last time he'd done it, she'd ended up with a cast on her wrist. He still hadn't forgiven himself for that stunt and neither had his wolf.

He used his nose to sniff her out and grinned when he found her scent the strongest from their room. He mused that she had fallen asleep instead of reading. With a shake of his head, he opened the door and stopped dead in his tracks.

'Sweet mother of everything holy.' Sam couldn't help the groan that left his lips.

Bella had taken two pieces of silk and wrapped them around herself- one covering her chest, the other just covering her waist from him. She'd tied both with a bow and lay sprawled across the bed asleep.

He toed off his shoes and slid the cut offs from his hips before making his way onto the mattress. He kissed and nibbled his way up her legs, grinning when she started to stir the closer he got to the first bow. He hummed when she whispered his name, still not completely awake. He'd have to remedy that.

"Bella…" He cooed, kissing his way up her flat stomach.

"Sammy." She sighed with her eyes closed. The fog of sleep lifted, even as she tried hard to hang on to it.

His lips made it to the second bow and he grinned. "Bella…"

"Hmm?" She giggled when she felt his nose running along her throat.

"You awake yet?" Sam whispered in her ear.

She shook her head but his grin told her he knew better. "Is everything ok with Jake?"

"Mmmmmmhm." He drew it out and kissed and nipped over her collar bone, moving back down to the bow around her chest.

Her hands carded through his hair and she grinned at the lust in his eyes. "Is that the only answer I'm gonna get?"

"Maybe." He grinned.

She smiled. "Are you too busy enjoying your present?" She teased.

Sam grinned. "I'm no longer alpha." He said before laving at her nipple through the silk material of the bow.

She gasped. "Oh! Sam that's amazing!"

"I thought so too. He asked me to be his beta. But this means I'll have more time for you now. No more planning patrol shifts… no more listening to fights… no more checking in on wolves to make sure they're doing what they're told… no more having them in my house at all hours of the day and night." He whispered while he unwrapped the first bow. He moved quick to do the same to the second.

Bella wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tight. She gasped when she felt him enter her body, loving the way he filled her completely.

"I love you so much Sam!"

Sam grinned and folded his body down to kiss her. "I love you too Bella… so much."

A feeling of peace settled over him as he held Bella in his arms after they'd fallen over the edge of bliss together. He closed his eyes and thanked the spirits again.

"You know what this means don't you?" He finally asked.

She arched an eyebrow and looked at him. "No, but tell me anyways?"

"I get to unwrap you more often." He teased with a grin.

Bella laughed. "Maybe I should throw myself under the tree next time. After all… it's a Christmas of firsts. First year as a married couple, first year in a new house… first year with too much time on our hands…"

"First year as parents?" He tried.

She grinned. "We'll see."


	9. Santa's Train

**Title:** Santa's Train

**Pairing**: Jared/Bella

**Rating**: M

**Genre:** Friendship, Romance

**Summary: **

Bella is working in the Seattle mall with her friends, Angela and Emily as an elf on Santa's train. Jared Cameron just happens to be the hottest Santa she's ever seen. When her car breaks down in the parking lot after the mall closes, who comes to her rescue but Santa himself.

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie Meyer…

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~)**

"Morning Ms. Bella." The head of mall security greeted.

Cliff Peterson towered over her person at 6'5" in height. She joked that just one of his biceps could have made up one of her legs. The morning, however, had not started well and she didn't have it in her to pretend to be decent.

She held her coffee up in response and offered him a small wave instead. If Cliff had been offended, he didn't say. He only chuckled and went back to watching the security cameras. Bella Swan could not stand mornings. Somehow though, she had to find a way to endure it. She thought of new ways to strangle her two best friends- Angela Webber and Emily Young- without being caught. They'd known each other since middle school, and she still had yet to tame their wild ideas.

The latest had her working as an elf on the Santa Train that gave children rides throughout the large mall in Seattle. She'd only started a week earlier- right before Thanksgiving no less. Black Friday had seen her nearly in tears. Of course, they'd only been train conductors then. They weren't supposed to start wearing their elf uniforms until December 1st.

"Bella! You're here early." A voice chirped from the employee locker room.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. I got woken up by my neighbor."

"Aw. Did she have her boyfriend over again?" Angela asked, having heard Bella complaining.

Bella nodded. She cleared her throat. "It went something like this: '_Oh yes… Ohhhh… yes, right there… ohhh you're SO big… yes! Emmett…_' My goodness I wanted to bang on the wall and tell him to put a sock in her mouth."

Angela and Emily had tears in their eyes from laughter as they listened to her impression of her stuck up neighbor. Angela had met her a few times and even she couldn't stand the blonde. Even Emily had to agree that Rosalie Hale had been a real piece of work. They all calmed down and pulled out their uniforms. Bella eyed hers with displeasure and turned to her friends.

"I blame you two, you know that right?" She quipped.

Angela rolled her eyes. "You know you love us."

"Besides… if you weren't here with us, you'd be stuck working in that awful kiosk down towards the end of the mall on the second floor where **no one **visits."

Bella rolled her eyes but didn't disagree. "Come on then. Let's go get ready to meet Santa." She said donning her outfit.

She sighed. The red six inch stilettos were cute enough. They reminded her of a sexier version of Dorothy's slippers from the Wizard of Oz. The stockings she could deal with... Sure, her legs looked like green candy canes but the dress made her cringe. The thing reminded her of Tinkerbell's outfit from the movies that Emily's niece Claire loved to watch. The top had been cut into a halter top style which meant hiding her tattoo would be out of the question. She only sighed again and shook her head.

"I heard they got someone our age to play him this year." Angela supplied.

Emily arched an eyebrow. "Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of being old and bearded?" She wondered.

Angela shrugged. "They used a pillow to make him look fat and he's got a beard and glasses… we'll find out soon. The train is down this way."

Bella eyed the security guards they passed. She watched the way their eyes roved over the girls and sighed. She had to tell herself this would be a two dollar pay raise compared to what she'd been making while sitting at the jewelry kiosk.

"Ohhh maaan… will you look at him?!" Angela hissed.

Emily shook her head. "Ben… you have Ben…" She reminded her with a grin.

"And you have Sam and I know you're looking!" Angela teased.

Bella stayed quiet. She'd been single since she'd found her boyfriend Edward in bed with Tanya- a girl in their literature class. "Come on you two. Let's stop ogling Santa and get the train started. There's already a line forming." Bella sighed.

They eyed her with frowns on their faces. "Are you sure you've had enough coffee this morning?" Emily teased.

"No, but I'll survive." Bella huffed.

They snickered at their friend and made their way over to the gate that housed the small 'train station.' It had been made from a raised platform and a fenced off area where parents and children could wait to pay and board the little train. It seated a total of 15 kids and made it's way along an electric track through the middle of the mall, circling the whole building twice. Parents were able to walk behind the train or wait by the gate for the train to come back. It would be the elves' jobs to ensure the safety of the children- and to look out for them during the ride.

"Bella, I think maybe you should ride up front. You can greet the kids, Emily and I can keep them entertained." Angela grinned.

Bella nodded in agreement, at least until she saw who would be driving.

Of course.

What would Santa's Train be without the man of the hour- Santa himself?

Jared looked floored when he caught sight of his co workers walking towards him. The two in front looked pretty, the first one stood nearly as tall as him which had been kind of off putting. He liked his women smaller than himself- he couldn't say why though. The second elf also looked pretty, but he could tell right away she had a boyfriend- something about the way she looked but left it at that. The third… he let his eyes rove over her while he licked his lips.

She. looked. gorgeous.

Costume be damned, the woman looked good. He had to grin when she took her place at his side. He felt pleased that she'd chosen to stay

up front with him.

"Hey, so, you're my helper up front today then?" He asked.

Bella winced. "Yeah, I'm Bella. But I warn you… I'm not awake yet."

Jared grinned. Now he knew why she'd been put up front. "Well… I'm Jared. And it's fine. I'm wide awake enough for the both of us right now." He said before turning to greet the first few kids coming onto the train.

Jared. Hmm… Bella liked that name. She had been more than pleased that he didn't mind her not being a morning person either. Maybe the train wouldn't be so bad after all.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Bella sighed. Two weeks had gone by and she wanted Christmas to be finished. Crowded malls, crying kids, pushy shoppers and leering men had been too much for her some days. Thank goodness for her friends. And Jared. He'd grown on her since their first meeting. They'd shared lunch together in the food court every day and she found herself wanting to see him out of his Santa suit. She wondered if he'd be friendly still.

"Bella? You ok?" Jared's deep voice asked with some amount of concern. They were friends after all- he'd told her so.

'Speaking of…' She sighed. "Yeah, just got a lot on my mind."

Jared frowned. "Anything I can do to help?"

'Fuck my problems away?' She snorted at the thought. "No.. I'll be ok. Sorry, just… drama."

"Bella? Is that you? Oh wow… it IS you! I thought I recognized that tattoo!" A voice crowed.

Bella winced. "Hey Jessica…"

Jared watched the exchange with interest. He arched an eyebrow when 'Jessica' turned her attention his way. He frowned when her eyes narrowed. That had been unexpected.

"So, I heard you worked in some Santa shop or something. I guess the rumors are true. Though I would think they'd get a more convincing Santa and a less sleazy outfit for the elves to wear." She mused.

Bella closed her eyes. "Yeah, well… they didn't. and Jared does a remarkable impression of Santa. Now, did you need something?" She snapped.

Jessica looked taken aback. "No… just shopping for Edward. I've been staying with him. Mike left me.I guess we didn't get along as well as I thought." She shrugged.

Bella only just resisted rolling her eyes. She smiled when she felt Jared's hand cover hers. "I'm sorry to hear." She offered.

It didn't go missed by the blonde in front of them. "It looks like he wasn't the only one to move on then. How long have you two been dating?"

"We're not." Jared shrugged.

"No? Just fucking then. Shame. I thought you had more class, Bella. Oh well…." Jessica said.

Bella nearly growled and muttered obscenities under her breath. "I hate that girl. We used to be friends. At least until her boyfriend told her he liked me instead. I'd done nothing to tell him I liked him, but he swore we would end up dating. She's hated me since then. Stupid, jealous, ignorant bitch."

Jared only shook his head. "Ok now. Come on… you're supposed to be a happy elf." He teased poking her side.

Bella gasped and moved away from his poking fingers. She'd just given away the fact that her sides were ticklish, causing Jared to grin. Within seconds he had her cornered in their little booth in the middle of the food court, relishing in her peals of laughter as he tickled her sides.

By the time they made it back to the train, Bella's cheeks were flushed pink and both of them sported wide smiles. Angela and Emily glanced at each other and smirked. Neither woman wanted to point out that the two had still been holding hands.

"Maybe we should get her a Mrs. Clause suit instead of just an elf…" Emily snickered.

Angela grinned. "Hey guys." She greeted Jared and Bella when they were closer.

"Hey Angie. Are we late or are the kids early?" She wondered when she saw the line. It had to be at least forty kids deep, so she mused.

"They're early. I promise you." Emily laughed.

"Well… come on then. Let's go play happy." Angela grinned at Bella.

"Do I have to be happy?" She whined.

"Come on grumpy elf. There's only a few more hours." Jared grinned while fixing his wig.

"Just shoot me now." Bella moaned.

Her friends giggled at the dramatic reply. She stuck her tongue out, showing off her red and green tongue ring. Jared grinned. The more he got to know her, the more he liked her.

His phone vibrated in his pocket as he settled into the front of the train. He checked it and grinned when he saw the text from his friend Paul. He worked in Hot Topic and usually, Jared spent his lunch breaks talking to him. However, by the pictures he'd just seen, Paul wanted to know who the 'fuck hot elf' who kept him occupied now was.

"Time to go, Santa." Bella's voice sounded behind him.

He grinned. The music started and with a wave and a dramatic bow to Bella, the train started. He sang along to the music and kept the kids laughing while they made their way through the mall. He winked once or twice when he caught Bella watching too. He decided he liked the blush she sported because of it. He'd have to do it more often.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Jared waved goodnight to Cliff as he stepped into the parking lot. It had been lit up by the flood lights and he told the guard he'd be fine walking to his car. He had enough muscle mass that someone would think twice before messing with him. He liked most of the guards- they weren't all '_dumb ass rent a cops with night sticks_' like Paul claimed they were. Cliff, the head of security had been cool at least.

He looked up when he heard a familiar voice cursing. His jaw about dropped when he saw her leaned over the open hood of one of his dream cars- a 1969 Chevelle SS. He only just bit back his groan. She even dressed in skin tight, curve hugging, low rise jeans and a red second skin baby doll tee shirt with a deep v- cut neck line… he had to bite his lip to mask his whimper.

"Bella?"

The brunette in question whirled around with a hand to her heart. "Jared!" She huffed. "You startled me… I didn't recognize you."

He held his hands up in front of him. "Sorry… I didn't mean too. You ok?"

"No… it won't start at all…" She sighed.

He walked closer. "Got a flashlight?"

"Are you good with cars?" She wondered.

"I'm ok. I help my friends out on occasion. I can take a quick look if you want."

"sorry… it's just… my dad got me the car and my best friend built the engine for me."

Jared grinned. "I've got a few friends like that. Let me see what I can do?"

She sighed. "Yeah, ok." She nodded in agreement.

He hummed as he peeked around before finally looking up at her. "Looks like it could be your starter."

"How much is gonna cost me to find one, do you know?" She sighed.

"They ranged from $100 to $130. Not that bad…"

Bella rolled her eyes. She wanted to dispute it, but she couldn't so she just nodded. "Will you stay here until I can get a taxi?"

"I can do one better. I've got trailer straps in my truck. I can tow your car for you." He explained.

"Um…"

"It'll be fine. Just tap your breaks any time I do and don't touch it otherwise. And just steer like normal. You'll be fine." He grinned.

She sighed and nodded. By the time they got to her apartment complex, her nerves were on edge. Even this late at night, there were too many idiots on the road. She had hated it, too scared she would rear end his truck. She figured she could at least offer him a drink. He smiled in thanks.

The silence of her apartment broke when her neighbor's headboard clashed against the wall. Jared grinned. "Are they always like that?" He asked when the door closed.

Bella rolled her eyes. "ALWAYS. It's so annoying."

"I wonder if he knows she's faking it…"

She raised an eyebrow. "How can you tell?"

"Just listen. No one screeches like that if they're enjoying it. She's trying too hard, which most likely means she's cheating on him." He mused following her into her kitchen.

She chuckled. "Is that right?" She asked grabbing down two shot glasses.

He eyed her and grinned. He loved the view. "Yeah."

"God I want to tell him to gag her…" She hissed.

He grinned. "How about we just show her up…"

"Excuse me?" She wanted to make sure she'd heard him right.

He grinned and moved into her personal space. "Have I been wasting my time flirting the last two weeks?"

"Um… n-no…" She backed herself into a corner, her waist hitting the counter behind her.

Jared invaded her personal space again. "Am I wrong to want to kiss you right now?" He wondered.

"No…"

"Am I wrong to want to fuck you until you can't walk too?"

"Definitely not…" She breathed.

She surrendered herself to him as his lips pressed to hers. By the time they fell onto her bed afterwards, she felt as though she'd run a marathon race. She opened her eyes when he moved her hair out of her face. He kissed her forehead and grinned.

"So… you know… I don't do just casual flings…"

She frowned. "Oh…" NOW what would she gonna do?

"I have jealousy issues too…" He murmured.

"Oh?"

He nodded. "Think you can handle that?"

"Wait… what?" Sleep started leaving as she thought about his words.

"Damn, you ARE tired aren't you?" He let loose a pleased chuckle. "I'm asking you to be my girlfriend."

She grinned. "Ok.."

"Awesome." He returned her grin.

Maybe working on Santa's train wasn't so bad after all. She passed out in his arms- her last thought that maybe working on Santa's Train wouldn't be so bad after all.


	10. The Christmas Tree

**Title:** The Christmas Tree

**Pairing**: Jake/Bella

**Rating**: K

**Genre:** Family, Friendship

**Summary: **

The pack makes an annual trip every December with their kids to the mountain top to pick a tree. Only the pack and the imprints understand the significance that one spot.

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie Meyer…

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~)**

"Daddy! Look! Over here… look!"

"Look daddy!"

Jacob smiled and watched as two dark haired, brown eyed toddlers raced around the back yard through the snow. His girls were definitely hellions- had been since their birth three years prior. He'd chased them around the house on his days off from work and in the evenings, he had to have them outside or they'd never give him any peace. His father had been dead on the mark when he'd cursed him to have children just like him.

"Girls, stay in the yard!" He warned.

"Kay!" They chimed in unison.

He cursed his gorgeous wife sometimes. Her love of reading and teaching had him wanting to ram his head through the side of a brick house on most days. His girls were just too smart. All of the pack's kids had benefited from her as their teacher though, he had to admit it. She'd helped them from the time they were little when she'd watch them, working with them again when they passed through her kindergarten class in the case of Sam, Jared and Paul's oldest kids. They were well advanced in reading, spelling, writing and language. She'd even learned the Quileute language and taught them, telling the elders it had been past time for the children to better understand their own culture. Sometimes she joked that they spoke Quileute better than English.

His grin faded from his face as he looked to the house that he now called home. He no longer had to worry about making sure his father got up and out of the bed. He no longer had to drive him to doctors visits or the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions. Billy Black had passed away just a year ago. Not even six months after his best friend, Charlie Swan.

"Why so upset alpha?" A voice cooed behind him.

Giggles filled the air around him causing the wolf in him to rumble with pride and calm all at the same time. His mate and youngest child were home finally.

Jacob's face broke out into a sunny grin as he turned to see his wife of four years holding their one year old son on her hip. "Not upset Bells, just thinking."

Bella smiled and moved to give him a one armed hug with their son- William Charles- snuggled between them. "What about, handsome? You looked so sad."

He sighed and smoothed down William's hair. "Dad."

"You know he's up there with Quil, Harry and my dad laughing at us, right?" She asked.

He couldn't help but grin. Bella never gave him pity like most people did. She'd say something funny and honor the life their fathers had lived. It was her way. It was the pack's way.

"I'm glad you're mine." Jacob murmured after she'd set William down to run after his sisters.

"I am too."

She'd come back from Italy to see the entire pack in her yard. Edward had tried to plead that he loved her, but Bella knew better. She'd shocked everyone when she moved towards the wolves, showing her loyalty to them. Even Paul had been floored when she'd laced her fingers with Jacob's- as far as he knew Jacob had never said a word about his tie to her.

The Cullens worked with the wolves to kill Victoria, and then Edward left to inform the Volturi that Bella had been killed in a car accident before he could change her. He owed her, after all. And he had been a convincing actor. In the end, Aro had destroyed him at his request.

Carlisle, Esme and Alice had all but forgotten her after that. Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie left their long time family and joined with Peter and Charlotte. They lived in New York now, each of them working hard to clear the scum from the city.

"I got a call from Jasper today. He found his true mate. And he's sent you a gift- with instructions to leave in alone until Christmas." Bella grinned.

Jacob huffed. "I'll behave then." He grinned.

"How much longer before the rest of the pack gets here?" She wondered.

"We're here now, Bells." Quil said behind her.

They all laughed when she jumped and turned with her hand over her heart. "Holy crow! Quil, guys… learn to make some noise!"

Paul smirked. "Now where would the fun in that be?"

"You watch it Paul! You'll sleep on the couch again!" Rachel warned, defending her sister -in- law. She winked at Bella; They were family after all.

"Aw come on babe! That's not fair!" Paul frowned.

"No, what's not fair is that she put up with your shit and then had to deal with your twins for a year in school!" Rachel snapped.

Bella giggled. "The boys were fine Rachel. I promise their dad is still the worst behaved out of all of them."

It took Paul a minute to realize Bella had just insulted him- good naturedly of course, but still she'd made an insult. He huffed while the pack shared a chuckle. They got along well and had even become friends after Paul realized Bella had made the choice on her own to stay with the wolves.

"So are we ready to go?" Sam wondered. "Levi! Drop that!" He warned when his six year old son picked up a pine cone, ready to throw it at Christopher- Jared's six year old son.

"Just waiting on Seth. He's bringing his mom back from the grave yard." Embry said with a sad smile.

"I need to call her later. She became family after Charlie married her. She's still family to me." Bella said with a sad smile of her own.

The pack gathered around and hugged her one by one, the same way they did for any of the imprints. Bella rolled her eyes, but she'd long ago learned to just go with it. It could be blamed on the wolves in them, their instinct to comfort. The women present- Emily, Kim, Rachel and Angela- couldn't help but chuckle. They rescued her from the puppy pile saying they had to gather up the kids.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

"Ok kids… go find a tree." Jacob said.

Bella shook her head in amusement. They still had the occasional vampire roam through, but none had tried to claim territory. Not since the Cullens. They all of them listened to Jacob as if he were their alpha too. It may have just been instinctual on their part- they were wolf pups after all.

"Stay where we can see you please!" Bella called as an after thought.

The wolves all rolled their eyes when their own mates gave the same warning. Women would always worry for their kids.

Jacob sighed when he caught sight of Seth staring at the spot where his sister had been killed. He placed a hand on Seth's shoulder and stood motionless, paying his respects to their fallen sister. The lone she-wolf had come to respect Bella in the time she'd been with them. She'd given her life for her when, during the 'great battle' (so the elders claimed), a rogue newborn strayed too far away and found Bella alone- an easy target so he thought. They'd been moments away when the newborn had wormed his way free of Leah's teeth and torn his nails into her vulnerable belly. She'd bled out in Seth's arms.

"She still blames herself, doesn't she?" Seth finally asked.

Jacob sighed and nodded his head. "Sometimes. I think that's why she avoids you and Sue so much."

"Stupid woman. I'm not mad at her. I wanted to be- hell I tried to hate her for it for a long time- but she's my family. Charlie took care of Sue until he got run off the road and killed. He was her husband, which made him my step dad. That made Bella family. Still makes her so." Seth huffed while kissing the top of his daughters head. Leah looked just like her name sake- the aunt she'd never have a chance to meet.

"So tell her that." Jacob grinned.

"I will. I'll bring Leah by tomorrow. She can play with her cousins." Seth smiled.

"Sounds good. Now lets get you and Sue a tree." Jacob grinned.

Seth waved him away. "I got it. Go help Bella. You know she'll fuss otherwise."

Jacob smiled and left him alone. The sounds of axes cutting through wood filled the air but he honed in on the sounds of three squeals and a peal of laughter that soothed his inner wolf's anxious heart. He made his way to her and grinned when he saw his girls laughing and clapping as their uncle Paul started in on the tree they'd found. Jacob took over, thanking Paul and sending him back to his own family.

He didn't doubt that Paul could have done it, but they both knew how Jacob felt. He wanted to provide for his family in every way. Cutting down the tree for Christmas had been one of those small things that he took pleasure in providing for his family. Paul respected him for it and only shook his head with a shove to the shoulder before walking off to his own family.

By the time the trees had been cut down, the snow had started falling again. The kids laughed and danced in circles causing smiles to break out among the adults. Phones were pulled out of pockets and pictures had been discretely taken. The walk back to the trucks became harder due to the kids becoming tired. It led to a few of the wolves- namely Sam, Jared and Paul- phasing to carry them all.

The kids squealed in delight when the wolves would take small hops over branches littering the forest floor and the rest of the pack and their mates all chuckled when the wolves whined at pulled fur or ears. They couldn't complain much however, when those same kids would lean down and offer kisses to sooth away the miniscule amounts of pain.

They made it home just in time for Bella to run baths and start on dinner. The kids were set down in front of a movie- Frozen seemed to be their favorite- and Jacob went about setting up the tree in the stand. They'd put the lights on it after the kids were all in their beds, but for now, he left it alone, happy the thing wasn't leaning. He left the kids watching their movie and leaned on the door jam and watched as Bella dancing through the kitchen.

"I can feel you watching me you know." She mused as she stirred some pasta in the pan.

Jacob grinned. "And you say I'm the only one with supernatural abilities." He mused.

"I think it comes with having you as my husband and mate. I'm just hyper aware of where you are in the house- same with the rest of the pack. Who knows when you, Quil or Embry will try to jump out at me?" She teased.

He couldn't help but laugh. Her words rang true- the wolves played pranks galore on the imprints. They had never once been done with malicious intent though and they all knew that. The girls always seemed to get pay back one way or another too- which made their prank wars epic at times seeing as they always tried to up the ante.

"I've been thinking…" He started.

She turned and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "That's never good." She teased.

"Funny." He huffed. He smiled and brushed a stray piece of hair from her face. "I've been thinking maybe we could have Sue and Seth over for dinner tomorrow."

Bella's grin fell from her face and she sighed. For a few minutes she didn't say anything, merely turned and went back to fixing dinner. "ok. It sounds like a good idea. If they're not busy. I'll call Sue in the morning and ask her about it."

"She doesn't blame you for the way things happened Bells. And she WAS married to Charlie." Jacob reminded her.

Bella nodded. "I know. I just… I feel like I could have avoided it all if I'd only listened to everyone and stayed away."

"Hey… don't. Everything happens for a reason. You couldn't have stopped it anymore than I could have stopped my mom dying. It's fate baby." He said running his hands along her arms from shoulder to wrist.

She sighed again and nodded her head, leaning back into his chest. "Yeah. I know. I just… they have this look sometimes… they're so sad even though they try not to let me see it. They did the same thing at Charlie's funeral… I hate that look."

She missed the affectionate smile Jacob gave her. She did however, feel his arms wrap around her. "So talk to them about it baby. I'm gonna go check on the kids, they got quiet. Love you." He cooed kissing her neck.

"Love you too." She grinned, only half paying attention at that point.

After dinner came time for baths that the kids had weaseled their way out of before watching their movie. After bath time came story time and goodnight hugs and kisses. Bella and Jacob waited for a half an hour, taking the time to cuddle on the couch and watch a show on TV together before grabbing the lights out of the attic. She had to suppress her giggles a few times when the light cord tangled around Jacob's ankle causing him to huff and growl at them as if they'd answer. They finished within the hour with no major disruptions. They sat back down, turned the house lights off and admired the completely decorated tree.

Even with the joy that came from placing ornaments, they shared an underlying grief every time one of Charlie's had been unwrapped, or one of Billy's. They placed a couple for each of them on the tree in remembrance, and finally the picture of Leah towards the top. They'd been doing it for four years now.

The tree had come from the place she'd given her life. It felt like a part of her in some ways- according to Bella at least.

Bella rested her head on Jacob's shoulder and sighed. "I'm glad I stayed, Jake."

He kissed the top of her head and grinned. "I am too, honey."

"Love you." She whispered, already half asleep.

Jacob grinned. "Love you too."

He turned towards the fireplace and stared. He could have sworn he'd seen his family in the flames. With a sigh and a small smile he picked Bella up and carried her to their room. He couldn't wait to see what the next year brought. Maybe it wouldn't be so sad when they went in hunt of the next perfect Christmas tree.


	11. Candlelight and Mistletoe

**Title:** Candlelight and Mistletoe

**Pairing**: Embry/Bella

**Rating**: T

**Genre:** hurt/comfort, friendship, romance

**Summary: **

Embry chanced everything by confessing his love to his girlfriend. She threw his grandmother's ring in his face and walked away. Bella stepped in to help him see that he'd already given his heart one of his best friends.

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie Meyer…

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~)**

"Bella?"

The woman in question, 23 year old Isabella Swan, looked up from her place on the step stool she'd been using to hang icicle lights and saw two figures standing by the entrance to her enclosed back yard. She'd moved out of her dad's place after she had found a quaint little one story, 3 bedroom house for rent. She'd been in there for the better part of three years. There were only certain people who knew where she lived anymore so she only smiled and offered a small wave letting them know to come back.

A lot had changed for her in the last two years. She'd lost one of her best friends because she and his girlfriend didn't share anything in common. Along with that came the bitter taste of unrequited love. She'd dived in head over heels only to come out with nothing more than a '_you're one of my best friends ever, Bells._'

"Bella you ok?" Another voice asked.

Her long mahogany tresses- nearly down to her waist now- hid her sad, soulful chocolate brown eyes fairly well. Though not well enough it seemed when she received twin suspicious glares. To her best friends- Jacob Black and Quil Ateara- she **couldn't **hide her feelings. They knew her too well.

"Hey guys, come on back. I'm nearly finished." She said.

Behind them walked Jared Cameron and Paul Lahote. She did a poor job of hiding her shock when she saw them; They only came to see her once in a blue moon. Wolves needed to have physical contact with their 'pack,' and Bella was a part of that pack. Each of them came by to talk for a few hours and make sure she wasn't alone for too long these days.

But she'd just seen them all yesterday.

Paul sighed. "Don't look so stunned, Swan. I don't like the bitch and I wanted to make sure you weren't hiding… which you are."

"I'm not hiding Paul. I'm giving him space- like she asked me to do."

Bella said with a sigh.

Jared rolled his eyes. "Don't bother denying it. We're wolves. We see it, we think about it all the time. He thinks we're doing it to piss him off but the only oblivious one is him."

"I'm fine guys. It's ok." Bella said. She would be stubborn enough to make herself try and see it when they all knew she felt anything but fine.

Jacob shook his head. "He's one of my best friends, but damn it! I hate that this hurts you so much… Angie said you're supposed to come over tonight. She's making your favorite dinner. She wants to cheer you up some."

"Claire and I will be there too. You know how it is when those two get together. They definitely wanna see you." Quil said before she could decline the offer.

Bella sighed. She'd literally stumbled onto the fact that her best friends turned into shape shifting werewolves after ex- who she learned was a vampire- lost his control and bit her. She'd learned that Paul had been the one to figure out that Edward had been enthralling her to keep her compliant. She also learned that he had convinced Billy Black- her dad's best friend and chief of the Quileute tribe- on his own to let the pack intervene.

She'd learned afterwards from Jacob, Quil and Embry that vampires could entice humans to them by enthralling them. Emmett Cullen had been the one to pull the venom from her blood. He'd come to see her in the hospital to tell her how sorry he felt. He'd never wanted to be a monster- it explained why he fed on animals.

Bella learned that day that the Cullen family had been dead set on her staying human. Alice had seen Edward bite her, but not when. Emmett swore they'd have stopped him otherwise. Now she'd have a permanent reminder of the monsters they all were. She'd told him to shut the hell up and take the unneeded guilt somewhere else.

They left Forks after that.

Bella had never been so thankful to the wolves in the months that had followed. They saw first hand what prolonged exposure to being enthralled by a vampire could do to a human. Her best friends and the rest of the pack were there every step of the way to pull her from her self imposed prison. Along the way, she fell in love with one of them.

She'd learned about imprinting. She'd met the imprints and won them over without much effort. They were in awe that she'd survived a vampire attack and shared her hatred of Edward Cullen for playing with her the way he had. She'd helped Jacob and Quil talk to Angela and Claire- their imprints. And she'd introduced Seth to his girlfriend, Savannah.

And then Embry met _her_.

Gabriella Ward.

His new _fiancée_.

"Come on Swan. It's getting cold. I'll finish hanging the lights in a while. You need to get warm." Paul huffed.

Ever the protector.

"But, it's not that bad…" She tried to argue.

Four protective wolves glared and told her otherwise with their body language. She could be so stubborn. She mused that at least if she felt numb, she didn't have to think about the huge mistake her best friend would be making. The woman he had asked him to marry was vile.

Jared gave his friends a worried look when she turned her back to them. She'd been trying too hard to let go of the love she held for Embry. They didn't know what would happen when she finally did. They'd all tried to tell Embry that Gabriella wasn't good for him. They knew that if Sam couldn't convince Embry of what he knew, Embry would need Bella- the same way she needed him now.

(~_~_~_~_~_~)

Embry sighed and danced from foot to foot in his living room. He'd just asked Sam to leave and sent a text message to his girlfriend asking her to meet him at his house. It wasn't much, but he owned it. Sam had helped him build it up from nothing. So had the rest of his pack.

They'd tried to tell him about Gabriella not being honest with him. But she looked and acted so innocent. How could she ever think about doing that to him. She knew him better than anyone- mostly anyone. They spent so much time together, it'd be hard for her to think of time to step out on him anyways. Sam had tried to talk some sense into him, but Embry had only gotten insulted and asked his alpha to leave.

His friends, the pack, the imprints- none of them liked her much. They said she was difficult to get along with. Even Bella had told him as much at one point- before she stopped coming over to spend time with him. He didn't understand how they could think that way. He frowned at the thought of Bella and resisted the urge to call her. She'd been so distant since she learned he wanted to ask Gabriella to marry him. He missed her- even his wolf missed her now that he thought about it.

A knock on his door drew him from his thoughts. He opened the door to the sight of his gorgeous girlfriend. "Hey you."

"Hey. I would have been here sooner. Car trouble." She said hoping she'd fixed her hair and sprayed enough perfume to cover the smell of sex. She sighed in relief when he seemed to buy the excuse.

"I'll have Jake look at it if you want." He said pulling her towards the couch where he'd hung the mistletoe.

"It's ok. Embry… why are we here. I thought had plans for dinner tonight. It's our anniversary. I told you I wanted to do something big for it."

He grinned. "Well this kind of is…um… here… let's eat. I made pasta… hope it's ok."

"Embry… you know I don't like pasta. It's loaded with carbs! It's bad for you." She said with a small frown.

He swallowed. He had messed up already. Pasta had been something Bella liked.. Something she never complained about would ruin her figure.

Focus, Embry. He sighed.

"We've been together two years now… you'd think I'd have learned." He muttered.

"Has it been that long?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It has. Hard to believe huh." He said pulling her closer to him placing a kiss to the tip of her nose.

"So where did you have in mind for tonight?" She asked.

"I thought we'd stay here… I'll cook something else if you want." He tried.

She frowned. "What's wrong? You're acting so-"

"Marry me!" He shouted. His wolf growled in the back of his head. The spirit didn't approve of the man's desire to tie himself to someone as vile as Gabriella. Embry clamped down the beasts anger and focused on his girlfriend again.

She blinked. "What?"

"Marry me, Gabriella." Embry asked again, holding his grandmothers ring out to her.

She shook her head. "Don't ask me that.. You don't mean that, do you?!"

"Why wouldn't I ask you that?" He asked her, trying to mask the hurt in his eyes. "Baby, I love you."

Gabriella shook her head and closed his fist around the golden band. "I don't love you enough to marry you. I've been meaning to tell you... I've been seeing someone else... we had fun but I can't marry you. I'm sorry... we're finished Embry." She said before walking out the door.

Only then, in the silence did Embry realize that everything his pack had told him had been true- Gabriella had always been wrong for him, he had refused to see it. He sat down on the couch and stared at the cooling pasta. He missed Bella... she would have known how to make light of recent events. Tears welled in his eyes... he'd more than likely lost her for good.

All he could think of other than his own shock of being rejected, was how much he wished he could talk to Bella. She'd make everything alright.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

"Hey! How'd it go?" Jacob asked, trying to sound happy.

"_It didn't. We're not even together anymore. I found out_…"

Jared, Paul and Quil stared at the phone in Jacob's hand, having heard every word clear as if he were in the room. Bella only sighed and made her way into the kitchen. She cursed not having werewolf hearing- yet again.

"What happened?" Jacob wondered.

Embry sighed and tried to hide the tears. "_You were right. Every one of you. She's pregnant…and it's not mine. It smells nothing like me_…"

"Christ, Em… do you want me to come over there?" He was still one of Jacob's best friends.

"_Nah… just tell the pack... No more Gabby. Tell Bella I'm sorry too… I know you're over there_… " He asked, hanging up when Jacob promised he would tell her.

Quil frowned. "He sounds like hell." He huffed.

"Who does?"

They'd forgotten they were at Bella's as she cam back out with a tray of drinks for them. "It's Embry. He finally found out that we weren't lying…" Jared said.

"He doesn't want the pack around him right now." Paul added with a frown. The wolves didn't like it at all.

Bella stared at them for a few seconds before running down the hallway to her bedroom to change. She startled the wolves when she came back out completely dressed demanding they get up and herded them from the house before locking the door behind her. They stayed quiet because they'd never seen her so pushy. They were too stunned to do much else. Once Bella's truck had been filled to its capacity, Bella made her way to La Push.

Jacob and Quil did nothing but stare at their friend as she pushed her ever faithful truck to it's limits. Jared and Paul only watched in silent astonishment. All four of them worried about her. She'd not said a word yet, and they wondered what she had planned.

It took next to no time for Bella to pull into Embry's drive and kill the engine. She shoved a finger in each of their chests and told them to stay out of the house. She'd be the one to talk to him. She'd be the one to offer him advice. It would be her turn to pay him back and pull him from his own prison.

"Embry?" Bella called, frowning at the lack of lights on in the house.

He sighed. The last person he deserved to see at the moment would be her. He looked up from his spot on the couch when the front door opened. He tried to smile and pretend to be chipper, but it didn't work and Bella saw right through it.

"Embry…"

"Hey Bells." He greeted before he turned his attention back to the lights of the candles on the coffee table. He'd done it for Gabriella, for their dinner, but now, he found the fire distracting.

He looked completely shocked when she hauled him to his feet and her arms went around his waist in one of her typical, comforting hugs. More tears gathered in his eyes when he realized that she'd always done that to him. She'd always been able to draw him out of his shell. "I wish I could kick her ass for hurting you, Em. I'm so sorry."

Embry chuckled. "You're always in my corner."

"Always will be." She promised.

He sighed and leaned his cheek on the top of her head. "Sam came over just before she did. He tried one more time to talk me out of it. The pack tried to tell me… all my friends did… all of them but you." He whispered the last.

"It wasn't my place to say anything. I'm only a friend Embry. I didn't want to start a fight because there wasn't much proof. She was careful- the sneaky bitch." Bella huffed.

His head tilted in confusion. "Why would it have started a fight. I'd never fight with you."

"We'd have been angry at one another. You at me for thinking I wanted to break you two up- like Jacob and Quil tried to do a couple times- and me at you for being stubborn and not listening."

Embry chuckled. "Hey Bella?"

"Hm?"

He kissed her cheek, close to the corner of her mouth. "Thanks."

"For what exactly…" She asked hesitant to know the answer.

"For trying to let me learn on my own. For trying, in your own way, to avoid doing anything to damage our friendship. For not letting me forget you've always had my back, no matter what. For not throwing it in my face that I should have been looking right in front of me for the perfect woman. Look up, Bella."

Bella gasped after seeing the mistletoe he'd danced them under and stared into his brown eyes. She sighed when his lips found hers, brushing together. She loved and hated how careful he treated her- like she would deny him.

They broke the kiss apart when howls filled the air. "You gotta go?"

He cocked his head to the side and listened. "Nope. They're welcoming the newest member." He couldn't be more thankful to Jacob and Quil. He could hear them talking in the front yard.

"Someone phased?"

"No… another wolf found their mate." He whispered placing his forehead against hers.

Her face fell some, even though she tried to hide it. She'd never begrudge any of the wolves their happiness. "We should say congratulations then."

"We should. Jake just phased.. He's out front."

"Do you know who it is then?"

"Yeah, I know." He grinned.

Bella swatted his arm. "Who is it?"

He grinned again and picked her up in his arms before sitting down on the couch with her in his lap. "Me and you."

She gasped and stared at him in shock. "But…"

"We read the journals. You know I can choose you. My wolf isn't even fighting the way he was with Gabriella. It's like an imprint, but I didn't imprint on you… you've just always been close and my wolf has strong feelings for you already…"

Bella giggled. "You're rambling. There's no need to get nervous Embry. I'm happy."

He cradled her face in his hands before their lips met again. How could he not have seen her as anything other than a friend? How could he have brushed the wolf's wishes off from the start? He sighed and broke their kiss.

"I'm so sorry, Bella." He frowned.

"For what?" She asked with her own frown. He looked so sad.

"It took me a long time and doing something stupid to realize that I've always loved you. I just didn't want to ruin anything… so I quelled it."

Bella smiled and pressed a finger to his lips. "I should have told you. Everyone wanted me to say something. But I thought you were happy so I kept quiet. We're both to blame."

"So… no more hiding?" He checked.

"You can't get rid of me now Em." She warned.

He grinned. "I don't want to get rid of you ever."

Bella sighed. "Good."

He placed a kiss to her cheek again as they watched the fire dancing in the candles. She thanked whatever spirits were at work now. They'd given her the best Christmas present ever. And it started with a kiss under the mistletoe.


	12. Stateside Christmas

**Title:** Stateside Christmas

**Pairing**: Embry/Bella

**Rating**: T

**Genre:** Friendship, Romance

**Summary: **

Embry is on leave for Christmas. He runs into Bella after not hearing from her for a little over two months and can't help but think how much she's grown. Taking a chance, he asks her to join him for coffee and finally sets his mind to tell her how he really feels when he learns that she's single again.

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie Meyer…

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~)**

"Hey man, don't look so pissed. We're on leave, remember? We're gonna be home with our friends and family until after New Years! That's more than some of the other guys got.."

Embry cracked an eye open to glare at his friend Kyle Kolbe. They were co pilots in the same marine unit- The Red Devils. Kyle had even been born and raised in Port Angeles. They'd gone through boot camp together and each of their instructors said they'd be stupid to separate them when they left boot camp. The 25 year old shook his head and closed his eyes again, letting a sigh escape his lips. Another hour and they'd be landing.

"So you two are in the military?" A voice asked from the seat ahead of them.

Embry opened his eyes and had to suck in a breath. The girl in front of them could have passed as his best friends double if she'd been older. He only nodded. "Yeah, we're pilots in the Marine Corps." He supplied.

"Well… thank you… For protecting us, I mean." She said with a sweet smile.

The grinned and nodded before she sat back down while her mother scolded her for bothering them. It felt good to be appreciated. Embry returned his attention to the window and fell asleep.

The next thing Embry knew, Kyle shook his shoulder, waking him from his sleep. They stepped out of the gate to applause as Kyle's long time girlfriend rushed into his arms. Embry only shook his head and waved bye to his friend. They'd see each other when their leave ended. He checked his watch and moaned. Afghanistan had been a full 12 hours ahead of him. He'd flown backwards in time- so his tired brain mused. It was 2 pm on the 18th, not the 19th. Jet lag would kill him when it finally hit.

The next thing he knew, he himself had been hauled into the arms of his half brother. "Damn it's good to see your ugly mug!"

Embry chuckled. "You too Quil! Hey Claire!"

Quil Ateara had been his best friend all his life. It wasn't until they were 13 that they learned they were half brothers. Embry had been involved in a car accident and Quil offered his blood for the possible transfusion the doctors said he may or may not need. Tiffany found out then just who her drunken one night stand had been with after that.

Quil and Embry grew closer after that- if it were possible; It didn't affect their friendship at all like people thought it would.

"Welcome home Embry!" Claire, Quil's long time- now pregnant- girlfriend said when Quil let him go.

"Thanks, it's good to be some place they're not trying to kill us hourly." He joked.

Claire frowned. "That is NOT funny, Embry Call. And don't you laugh, Quil! It's not funny!" She huffed with her hands on her hips.

Embry shook his head and bit his lip- mirroring Quil. "Sorry Claire. I forget sometimes it's not funny to family." He said giving her a careful hug. "You look amazing by the way. Motherhood suits you." He told her. "Quil's a lucky man."

"You've been saying that since we were kids." She said rolling her eyes.

Quil grinned. "Because it's true. Come on Em. Let's get your bags. Dad is at the diner with everyone already."

"So I can go straight home right?" Embry teased. Quil laughed while Claire rolled her eyes.

"Come on you two." She said linking an arm each through his and Quil's.

"So how is everyone?" Embry asked when they were in the car.

Quil grinned. "They're awesome. Paul is home too for Christmas. Rachel stayed pissed off at everyone for all of what… twenty minutes or so because Jake never said a word to her."

"She was pacified when Paul told her he had asked Jake not to because he wanted it to be a surprise. His unit didn't think they would get leave. He's just happy to be off the ship." Claire added.

Embry shook his head. Paul was one of the best seals his unit had apparently. The navy hated letting his unit go. "How's Jake? Last letter I got from him said broke things off with his girl Jessica. That was like, what… two or three months ago?"

"Yeah… she cheated on him while he was out of town. You know he has a shop in Seattle now too. He finally got the funds to open it. If I wasn't so pregnant, I'd have kicked her ass. As it stands, the honor went to Becca and Rachel." Claire grinned.

"What about Bella?" Embry asked. He hadn't heard from her for about the same time. It wasn't like her at all.

"They're not talking right now…" Claire said.

Quil looked in the review mirror and smirked. "She broke things off with Edward though. This time for good. He called Tanya's name in bed…"

"No way… that pussy ass cheated on her?!"

"All the guys took a hit on him before Bella told them not to waste their time." Claire nodded.

"Jake missed out, so I got three hits." Quil grinned.

Embry raised an eyebrow. "Three?"

"One for you too!" He rolled his eyes.

Claire only sighed. "Sam and Leah finally got married. Emily still won't talk to Leah because of it.. Not that Leah cares at all. Everyone knows the only reason she wanted to help with the wedding was so she could be close to Sam. She wanted him for herself and when he refused to fall for her, she left."

"Hasn't she always been after Sam though?" Embry asked.

"Yeah, she doesn't think Leah deserves him. She's apparently not girly enough." Quil grinned.

Embry rolled his eyes. He personally preferred a woman who could play sports and not care if she got dirty. He loved it when he'd come home for leave and get to wrestle around with Bella or watch a football game with her- she would always get so animated.

"Stupid." He said before resting his head back. His eyes closed and silence filled the car.

Quil sighed and took a long hard look at his brother in the rear view mirror. He frowned at what he saw. Physically, he had become more built- but that came from his time doing PT both in boot camp and at the bases over seas. They were only a month apart- something that had always floored their friends when they learned about being siblings- but now, Embry looked years older. He had to wonder just what his brother had seen to make him look like that.

"You're staring Quil."

Quil blinked. "I thought you were asleep!"

"Just resting." Embry corrected.

"Babe, you're gonna miss the turn." Claire said pointing.

Quil nodded. He knew where they were going, but he knew better sometimes to just go with it. Claire's hormones were brutal. "Thanks baby." He gave Embry the one finger salute when he heard him snort.

Embry rolled his eyes and watched out the window as the trees thinned on either side of the car. The hour or so ride from the airport had gone by quicker than he thought. Out of habit, his hands moved to adjust the straps of his rifle. It didn't work and he scowled in annoyance when he caught himself doing it. It took him a few more minutes to remember he didn't need it right now. He was safe. He was home.

"You ok man?" Quil asked. He'd seen his hands twitch and the frown on his face.

"Yeah, just thinking about everyone. It's not gonna be loud right?" He checked when they stopped.

Claire grinned. "Paul told us you wouldn't like it, so your dad made sure to tell everyone not to clap or cheer or anything- at least not too loud. You're gonna love what they've done to the diner."

"Jared said something about this place getting remodeled.." Embry mused.

"They tore some it down and added on but for the most part it's still the same." Quil said pulling into a parking space of the Raven's Wing Diner and Bar.

"Let me go tell them you're here. Don't come in till I wave." Claire warned.

"Yes ma'am." Embry grinned. He pulled a cigarette from his pack, lit it and inhaled. He'd not had one since he boarded his plane. He didn't want to smoke around Claire and Quil since he knew they weren't smokers.

Quil sighed when they were alone. "I'm sorry I didn't go in with you… we went through ROTC together… I just…"

Embry rolled his eyes. "Dude. Shut it." He said blowing the smoke from his lungs. "We've had this talk too many times before, we're not having it now. I'm glad you stayed here. Claire doesn't need the worry." He grinned.

"Bella doesn't need it either." Quil muttered low enough Embry didn't catch all of it.

"Come on guys… everyone wants to say hi!" Claire called from the front door before Embry had time to ask what was said.

The minute he was through the door, they were hit full force with loud cheers and clapping. Embry flinched at the noise and noticed Paul flinching too. He couldn't begrudge them though, they were just happy to see him. Even the people not there to see him clapped when they saw the uniform. His eyes scanned the room as he made his way to his friends and family.

Paul nodded, letting him know he shared his pain. It had been hard to leave the mindset of 'always at the ready' even when they were stateside. Embry took a seat near him and grinned when Paul clapped his shoulder. They were both thankful when the clapping stopped. They could only take so much noise before their already harried nerves snapped.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Embry walked out front and checked his watch. He'd been shocked to find that two hours had passed since he'd gotten to the diner. The sky had just started fading to black and he sighed before pulling another cigarette from his pack. He knew they'd allow him to smoke inside, but he'd refrained from doing it. He respected his friends and family enough to either wait or excuse himself like he'd just done.

Another hour after that, his friends and family started to leave. He stepped outside for one more cigarette and froze. He'd just turned back to the front doors after stubbing said cigarette out when he caught a glimpse of one of the bar tenders. He stared, floored when he saw just who he'd caught sneaking in her own cigarette break.

"Bella? Is that you?"

Bella froze and turned to face him, awe written clearly over her face. "Embry?"

Embry grinned. "Hey Swan!" He grunted when her body collided with his in a tight hug. His commanders would have loved writing him up for the PDA- the hard asses.

"How the hell are you?" He asked when she let him go.

She grinned. "I'm alright. Ready for the night to be over though. It's been a long one." She told him.

"I didn't know you worked here. No one said anything." He said motioning to her uniform.

"I've been here about four months now... I think the only one who knew I started here was Jake." She said with a shrug.

"He never said a word."

She offered him a sad smile. "We haven't talked since he broke up with Jessica. I was the one who tried to tell him about her cheating… he told me to stop being jealous… so we're not speaking." She shrugged. "None of the guys know about it either." She said as an afterthought.

"Well that sucks…" He frowned.

She laughed without much humor. "It's fine. Though, I wish I had known you would here tonight. I'd have gotten off work early or something."

"It's only 7 now.. What time does your shift end?"

Bella checked her watch and sighed. "Another hour unless my boss lets me go early."

"I've gotta wait for everyone else to leave, but if you can get off early, what do you say to coffee?" He asked. "We can catch up!" He added, hoping to sway her.

She only grinned. "Watch and learn what the charms of a woman can do." She teased.

Embry licked his lips and watched with hungry eyes as she sauntered back in to talk to her manager. Even in an over-sized down coat, mittens and a wool hat, he found her gorgeous and sexy. He couldn't help but admire her ass as she walked in her tight jeans either. He made his way back inside, his eyes not straying far from the bar where she stood talking to her manager.

"What's up Em, you wanna drink?" Quil smirked.

"You know that Bella's working over there right?" Embry wondered.

Quil nodded. "I saw her earlier. I asked her when her shift ended. I wanted to try and get her to come hang out with us." He mused. "Imagine my surprise when she tells me that you two made plans to 'catch up' over coffee..."

Embry shook his head. He ignored the mischievous smirk his brother wore when he told everyone still there he would be going to get coffee with Bella. They waved him off promising they'd catch up later. Bella came over, said a quick hello and goodbye to all of them and pointed her finger at Quil telling him to hush up, even before he could open his mouth. Embry had to wonder what Quil knew that he didn't. He only shook his head. His brother would tell him sooner or later.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Bella laughed as Embry told her about some of the funnier antics he and his co pilot Kyle got up to in their unit. Their commanders called them the best, so they got let off the hook for starting most of the mischief around base. She'd cringed when she heard how foul his language had gotten but hadn't said anything to correct it just yet. It had become a part of him now, and she would have to learn to live with it.

She couldn't help but appraise him when he got up to order a sweet for them to share. His treat- so he said. His muscles had muscles now! And the way his fatigues clung to those muscles nearly had her drooling. She had to pinch herself to stop thinking of how he'd look out of them. She took in his tanned skin, the dark hair that had been shorn to a close cut against his head, those dark comforting eyes of his- the ones that could tell his entire story- and grinned to herself. Underneath all of that, she bet she could find the same old Embry. He was still funny, sweet, courteous- more so now, no thanks to the military- and all around best friend.

"So how long are you here?" She asked when he sat back down opposite her.

He took a moment to take her in- Bella Swan had been hard to forget. Her brown hair had stayed long, tied back at the nape of her neck with a green bow. Her sinfully addictive brown eyes captivated him, belying the innocence that sparkled in them. Her body had filled out in all the right places- so he'd found out when she'd taken her coat off inside, and he couldn't help but think about how they'd look in his bed together.

"Just until after New Years." He sighed.

Bella frowned. "Well that bites." She muttered.

"It's not that bad. I'm going back to a safe zone. Unless they try to take the base over, nothing will happen." He told her.

"How long are you gonna be gone?"

"Just a few months. Then I'll be stateside again." He said trying to figure out why she had gotten so upset. She always had when he came home. This time hadn't been any different.

Bella sighed. "So are gonna come back here then?" She asked trying to hide her displeasure.

He frowned again. None of his other friends had ever shown so much concern. Maybe it was just because Bella was a female? But then… Claire, Kim, even Leah had told him only to be safe. Bella had been pressing him to find out when he'd come back home. But Embry knew that look. He'd seen in on the faces of girlfriends when guys in his unit had to say goodbye.

"Hey… what's wrong?" He tried while taking her hand in his.

Bella sighed and looked away. So much time had gone by them. She'd been surprised at herself for holding onto the crush she'd always had on him. But then again, Embry had been hard to forget. "It's nothing."

"Come on, Bells. Talk to me… we could always talk about anything." He added with a playful pout.

She giggled, causing him to grin. "I just hate it when you're over there… it kind of sucks… you know… we all worry…"

"But you more so…" He murmured.

She still heard him and nodded. "Me more so… I'm surprised it took Jake so long to catch on," She laughed. "He didn't talk to me for a few weeks…" She stood up and threw their trash away.

Embry shook his head and followed her out, leaving a tip in the jar on the counter. He saw her sitting on the tailgate of her truck and made his way over to her. "How long?" He asked.

How could he have missed that she'd been that into him?

Bella sighed. "Junior year… military ball… you asked Angela to go with you while I sat beside her at lunch…"

"You didn't talk to me for a full three weeks! Quil said you told him you had some personal stuff to work out…" Embry looked shocked. "The fucker knew! He's always known!"

"He figured it out… told me he wouldn't say a word…" She nodded.

"Wow! So senior year…"

She laughed and shook her head. "I wanted to hate you both so bad… but… I was happy that you were happy. And then she cheated on you…"

"You two got into that fight… damn woman!" Embry looked shocked. Bella had defended him for more than he thought. He'd thought it had been because of their friendship.

"Yeah…" She nodded her head and smiled.

"Quil told me I had no reason to be pissed when you dated that pansy ass, Edward. I kind of get it now… I mean,, he was a pussy, but I get it.. I can't believe the fucker never said a word!" He laughed.

"Geez.. Em.. You and that mouth of yours." She teased.

Embry blushed. "Sorry.. Um… it's a marine thing?" He tried.

"It's ok… I'm teasing you." She snickered.

He caught her hand and used it to pull her closer. "So… where do we go from here?" He wondered. "I mean… I only have another year in before my contract is finished… and I don't think you'd want to wait until I'm-"

Bella cut him off with a finger to his lips. "You ever been told you talk too much when you're nervous?" She teased.

He grinned and replied with a kiss. Just a gentle press of his lips to hers, but she wasn't having it. She pressed herself into him and let out a whimper when he took the hint and carded his fingers through her hair, causing the ribbon holding it to break loose. He shivered when he felt her hands pulling him closer.

"Bella…" He swallowed and tried to calm his breathing. Kissing her was so much more intense than he'd ever dared to dream.

She smiled. "I've wanted to do that for forever.." She admitted.

"Now you can do it whenever you want…" He promised.

She kissed him again. A gentle kiss, pressed to his lips. It was enough for the moment. They'd only just told one another how long they'd been dancing around their shared feelings. If Embry wasn't thinking so clearly, he'd have taken her in the bed of her truck then and there, but he saw how much she started to shake. It was definitely cold out, so he picked her up and placed her in the cab, telling her she could drop him off at his mom's house.

After all… he still had until New Years to hear her scream his name. He grinned and kissed her when she pulled into his drive way. Sometimes he loved being a marine.


	13. Winter Storm

**Title:** Winter Storm

**Pairing**: Paul/Bella

**Rating**: M

**Genre:** Romance

**Summary: **

Paul and Bella have never seen eye to eye. The sexual tension between the two has always been mistaken as anger, leading the pack to baby sit when it was never really needed. A snow storm has Bella stuck at Paul's over night. That same sexual tension leads to him finally confessing how he really feels for her.

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie Meyer…

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~) **

Paul sighed and slammed his fist into his punching bag again. He'd been sent home from Sam's house early again- all because of a single girl. A sassy, snarky, obnoxious, completely fuckable, 5'6" inch, 110 pound- something like that anyways- girl. For a moment, he envisioned his hands wrapped into her mahogany curls while her chocolate brown eyes flashed with lust as he forced himself down her throat.

_ Punch. Kick. Jab. Left hook. Undercut. Kick. Knee. Punch. _Paul growled and shoved the images away. She wasn't his.

Not yet.

A knock on his front door caused him to pause. No one ever came to his cabin; Not without invitation anyways. He'd built it on the outskirts of the reservation for a reason. Being 'dangerous' had earned him his solitude. Not that he complained much. He had the pack, and maybe one day he'd have his mate. The spirits wouldn't gift him with an imprint… would they? There had only been one woman his wolf wanted anyways.

He put his supernatural senses to work as he slowed the swaying bag that had been a target to his aggression. A faster heartbeat- a woman more than likely. Even breath- one of the imprints maybe… they weren't afraid at any rate. But why would they be alone. The wolves never let them far out of site, but he only heard one heartbeat at his door.

He rolled his eyes when whoever stood there knocked again. He perked up when he smelled food. And… _oh hell no_! He knew that perfume anywhere. Only **she** wore it. Secretly, it drove him mad when he smelled that cherry vanilla musk on her skin. It enticed the wolf in him too much some days.

He pushed those thoughts away and pulled his door open, an angry frown on his lips. "The fuck do you want, Swan?" He snarled.

Bella rolled her eyes. The insults hadn't phased her for the last seven months. "Go fuck yourself, Sparky. Emily sent dinner. And Kim sent your presents since you left them at Sam's." She showed him the gift bags as well as a foil wrapped dish of what smelled like Emily's tuna casserole.

Paul narrowed his eyes at her, trying to figure out why she had been the one to play delivery girl. With a huff, he finally let her pass. Emily's food was too good to ignore. He growled when he noticed Brady standing in the driveway near Bella's truck. The pup was still nervous around him. He rolled his eyes and slammed the door closed.

"Sure… make yourself at home." He quipped when he saw her coat, gloves and scarf draped over the arm of his couch. "Not that I couldn't use a maid." He mused.

"Could use a bullet to the dick too, fucker." She muttered under her breath.

Paul nearly chocked on his tongue. "You've been hanging around the pack too much." He mused. "Does daddy know you curse like a sailor and dress like a slut?" He whispered in her ear, his heated breath washing over her skin as he reached around her to get a glass from the cabinet.

Bella frowned. Sure her jeans were tight, hugging her every curve and sure her top showed off the curves of her torso. It didn't make her a slut. She shook her head and went back to fixing his food. Why she bothered had been anyone's guess. No doubt Brady still called her insane for spending any kind of time around Paul on her own.

"Bella…" He purred in her ear again.

Her eyes fluttered closed. She bit her lip to quell her groan. She couldn't do anything about the way her breath hitched though. Nor could she hide just what he did to her- all with barely any physical contact. She shivered when she felt him skim his nose over the column of her neck. It had to be a wolf thing, she knew that, but she couldn't deny it had been dead sexy when Paul did it to _her_. He had always been so much more in tune with his inner wolf and she found she loved it.

"You never gave me an answer." He noted when she danced away from him. He knew she understood he had let her do it. There would be no way she could gain the strength to move away from him on her own otherwise.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Choke on a bone Lassie." She growled when her body was back in check. "Now… you have your food and your gifts. Hurry up and eat so I can leave. Emily wants her dish back and I need to get home soon."

Paul arched an eyebrow and raised his fork to his oh so kissable lips. He inwardly smirked when Bella's mouth fell open as she watched him eat. He knew he'd been getting to her. He could smell it. And that in turn got to him. Only now… there were no other wolves to stop him from acting on the sexual tension between them. He just had to find a reason to make her stay so he could.

He mused that Brady had gone home when he didn't hear the normal shouts uttered between them as he stood on his porch an hour later watching her climb into her truck. She started the engine and turned it off just as quick. His ears perked up when he heard her cell phone ringing.

"Hey, dad."

"_Bella, where are you now_?"

She paused. "About to be at Sam's. I did Emily a favor and dropped some gifts off to a friend of theirs first."

Paul frowned. Did the chief hate him that much that she wouldn't tell her dad where she had been. He rolled his eyes. Why the hell did he care?

"_Bells, listen… stay where you are. I mean.. at Sam's friends' house. The roads started getting bad and it's heading towards the reservation quick_." Charlie warned her. "_They're waiting for the storm to pass before they even think about getting the snow plows out, but, please stay where you are_."

Bella sighed. "Ok dad. I'll stay here. Love you dad."

"_Love you Bella_." Charlie told her before their call ended.

Paul rolled his eyes when she started the engine. The snow had already started falling, and without her chains on her tires, he doubted she'd be confident enough to drive down the dirt path leading away from his house. He could see the trepidation in her eyes already. He opened the door, reached in and tore the keys from her ignition before she could do more than blink. He smirked and waited for the tirade to start.

"Paul! What the _fuck_ is your problem?! Give me the keys! I need to leave!" She hissed, jumping from the truck to face him with her hands on her hips and a wild look in her eyes.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't getting turned on watching her. He stepped closer and watched her eyes dilate- in lust or fear, he wasn't quite sure just yet. "Your dad told you to stay put, Swan. Now come inside, you'll catch your death in the cold." He growled.

Bella took a look into his eyes, noting the amber ring starting to bleed into the brown of his irises and smirked. His wolf had been the one she always reasoned with the most out of the two…he seemed to give in to her more… maybe she could talk him into letting her drive away. She gasped when she felt his lips brush against the shell of her ear.

"Whatever you're thinking won't work, Swan. There's no one around to keep the big bad wolf at bay right now. I've got you all to myself for once." He teased.

She tried to push her way past him but only succeeded in exhausting some of her energy. He definitely acted more wolf than man right now. But she didn't understand why he started acting this way towards her.

"Come on Paul. Just take me to Sam's." Bella growled in frustration.

He smirked. "You heard Sam. Alpha timbre and all. '_Don't come back until tomorrow morning when you've had a chance to cool off some._' And we all know alpha orders can't be broken." He quipped.

"Then call one of the other wolves to come and get me! We won't be stuck around each other all night long this way! I don't need you growling at me all night while I'm trying to relax, you overgrown ball of fluff!" She growled.

He smirked and picked her up with no warning, chuckling when she squealed and warned him not to drop her. "Come get warm Swan." He told her. "The temperature's already dropping."

"Put me down Paul." She hissed.

He growled when her hands went to his sides. "Jesus your hands feel fucking freezing!" He crowed.

Bella smirked. "You should have listened. Didn't you go through training as a puppy? I thought you passed. Remind me to tell Sam he has to put you through remedial classes."

"You're playing with the wrong wolf, Swan." Paul said stalking her backwards. The timbre of his voice dropped to somewhere between sexy and dangerous as they walked.

Bella's breath caught again when he caged her to the wall. There would be no way to mask the smell of her arousal from him. She nearly melted at the first touch of his heated lips to her chilled skin. She shivered when his hands ghosted over her sides, down to rest on her hips.

"Still cold?" He purred when his lips finished their questing trail at her ear lobe.

She nodded, unable to speak. She held her breath as she waited to see what he'd do. Said breath left her lips in a gasp when he lifted her into his arms, forcing her to wrap her legs around his waist while her arms wound around his neck. Her eyes widened when she felt him shudder. Their hips rubbed and bumped against one another with every step down the hall he took.

"Paul.." She tightened her arms around his neck and gave in to her body's demands to be closer to him. He'd smell it on her long before she could deny it anyways.

Their lips met in a heated kiss as he stepped into his bathroom. Their tongues battled for dominance, something Bella let him have when he pinned her to the wall and shoved his hips into hers. Her lungs started to burn with the need for air, but she didn't want their kiss to end. His hands worked to bunch the fabric of her shirt up and off of her body forcing their lips apart.

Paul's breath hitched when he saw the deep red lace bra she wore. That color against the porcelain of her skin became sinfully seductive and his wolf wanted to stake a claim more so now than ever.

"Fuck me…" He moaned, sitting her on the counter.

His hands moved from her shoulders, down her arms, across the smooth skin of her stomach to the band of her jeans. His eyes never left hers as he worked them down and off of her legs.

"P-Paul.. The water.." She reminded him.

He still hadn't said a word, his eyes never leaving hers as he turned the water on in the shower, allowing it to get warm. His hands smoothed themselves over the skin of her legs, his fingers tracing patterns along the muscles of her calves, up to her thighs before grabbing a hold of her thong and nearly ripping it off of her. He didn't let her legs close, instead he held them apart so he could see her, moving them over his shoulders for good measure.

"Damn woman… you smell… so. Fucking. Enticing." He growled between kisses to her inner thigh.

Bella moaned when she felt his tongue slide over her wet heat. His fingers moved to press and rub on her clit as he feasted on her dripping pussy. He could have died and gone to Heaven then and there. One of her hands moved to card through his hair before giving it a gentle tug, the other hand busied itself unclasping her bra at the front. She never thought she'd see the day Paul Lahote fell on his knees in front of her with his tongue buried deep in her pussy… yet.. Here he was.

Paul's eyes dilated even more at the smell of her increased desire.

"What's on your mind, Swan? What's got you so hot?" He asked as he kissed his way to her nipples.

She swallowed hard. "Nothing…" Her voice sounded breathless.

"Uh huh…" Paul hauled her into his arms, giving her little time to do more than wrap herself around him before their lips were fused together again.

She tore her lips from his when the need for air became too much. "What is it about you?" She asked, her breath coming in great pants while his lips left a heated trail over the column of her neck.

It took her a few tries, but she grinned in triumph when she got his shorts off of his hips. "Clever, Swan… clever." He teased before stepping into the shower.

She frowned and leaned in to capture his lips with her own again. "No barking, Paul. Bad wolf." She whispered in between kisses.

She shivered when the hot spray of the shower rained over her still chilled skin- though how she still had cold skin at all was beyond her. Paul

grinned in amusement. He knew- he always seemed to know what she thought.

"You still cold?" He cooed in her ear when the shampoo got rinsed from her curls.

"With my own walking space heater?" She snarked. "You tell me."

Paul growled and pulled them both from the shower. "Tell me you don't want this." He checked as he dried her skin.

She shook her head and let her lips meet his. "I can't." She told him tugging his hair.

"Watch it Swan." He warned, holding her against the wall of his bathroom. He secretly loved that she got feisty.

"Or what Cujo, you gonna bite me?" She teased while biting his lower lip as he rubbed the cloth of the towel over her nipples.

Bella gasped when Paul grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head back. His teeth scraped at the skin of her neck. "You gonna let me, Swan?" He growled.

"Paul…" She whimpered. "Bed… please…"

He grinned and hauled her into his arms again, carrying her the short walk to the bedroom. "Last chance, Swan. I don't know if I can let you walk away after this." He warned.

Bella searched his eyes. "So don't." She challenged.

"Smart girl." He cooed before throwing her onto his bed. He stalked after her looking every bit the predator stalking its prey.

She couldn't help the rush of excitement that flooded through her. Her hand moved to his neck, urging him to cover her completely. "Need you."

Paul grinned. "Thought you'd never admit it." He purred before slamming himself into her more than soaked core.

He didn't give her much time to adjust before her legs were thrown over his shoulders. He slammed his hips into her, growling in her ear all the while. The dirty words and promises of endless pleasure filled her head and raced through her body. He pushed her just to the edge and backed away again just as quick.

"Paul! Please!" She didn't know how much more she could take.

Paul leaned down to stare into her eyes. She'd been nearly folded in half with her legs still thrown over his shoulders. "Come on Bella… don't hold back." He growled.

Bella gasped, her back arching, her hands searching for something to keep her anchored to the bed. She moaned when she felt one of his hands connect with hers, their fingers lacing together. She didn't know what had happened between them, but she did know she didn't want to stop it. She wanted it to happen.

She shivered and came with a scream of his name, barely registering the teeth sinking into her neck as Paul followed her over the cliff of his own bliss. Her senses came back to her as she lowered her legs to wrap them around his waist, trying to get more comfortable while small after shocks of orgasm rolled through her body each time she felt him grind into her.

"Paul… you bit me…" She whispered trying to make sense of it.

They'd told her a wolf would only mark its mate. He hadn't imprinted on her… so why had he marked her?

He nuzzled the mark, his eyes closing when he smelled himself on her skin. "I was gonna find a way to tell you eventually…"

"Tell me what, Paul?" She didn't like him muttering like that. Did he think she regretted it?

Paul sighed and looked her in the eye. "The wolf wanted you… but it's not an imprint… it's something else. I talked to Billy, I talked to Harry, I talked to old Quil and I even asked the spirits. Sometimes wolves don't imprint. Sometimes…"

She smoothed a hand down his cheek. "Sometimes they what?" She asked.

He sighed and rolled over to his back, pulling her with him. He smirked when she squealed at the unexpected movement. "Sometimes they just know who their mate is. They're not overcome with love right away, they're not possessive, they're not even overcome by a huge need to be without said imprint…"

"But they still love their mate just the same?" She wondered.

He nodded. "They do…"

"Do you?" She thought she'd thrown him off guard when she asked.

He merely smirked. "Have for a while…"

Bella gasped and sat up, staring down at him. "All those times you got pissed because I hung on Jake or Embry or Quil? Wait…. Did they know?! Oh I'll kill them! Of course they had to have known! I mean how could they not with the pack mind-"

Paul grinned and cut her tirade off with a kiss to her lips. "No one but Sam knew. It's why I only ever got sent home."

She sighed. "What am I gonna do with you?" She mused.

"I could think of a few things." He teased with a wink.

"Go to sleep, Paul. We'll think about it in the morning." She said with a small smile.

Paul sighed, his fingers running through her hair after she settled herself against his body. It wasn't the same as an imprint. But she belonged to him now, and he'd been hers for a long while, even if she didn't know it. He couldn't help but grin at that. She hadn't told him no and he wondered if she would. With another sigh, his eyes closed and he settled into sleep. She was right, they'd talk about it in the morning.


	14. Peppermint Kisses

**Title:** Peppermint Kisses

**Pairing**: Seth/Bella

**Rating**: M

**Genre:** Romance, Family

**Summary: **

Bella loves candy canes. Seth loves Bella. There is only so much Seth can take as he's forced to watch his gorgeous mate worshiping the treats while doing daily chores. Once he comes back from patrol at night, he shows her exactly how much he hates being teased.

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie Meyer…

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~) **

"Morning Bella." Leah greeted her sister in law as the girls walked into the grocery store together. "Where are the kids?"

"Hey Leah. I left them sleeping. Seth is at home and if they're up, he'll be up with them."

"Sounds like Seth." Leah nodded.

"What's got you up so early?" Bella wondered. "Not that I'm complaining or anything. I just don't see you before 9:00 most days."

Leah sighed. "Can't sleep. Paul had the early shift, so I got up with him. My house is cleaned, the bills are ready to be sent out in the mail and there's only so much TV I can watch before other people are awake."

"I've been there and done that… I hate it." Bella mused.

Leah snorted and shook her head when Bella threw four boxes of candy canes into the shopping basket. "Sweet tooth?"

"Only for these. I love the things!" She grinned.

"My brother will die. You have no idea what it's like to patrol with him some days!" Leah quipped.

Bella smirked. "Who patrols with him tonight?"

"Embry. Thankfully!" Leah snickered.

"Poor guy. Lucky Rachel… poor guy…" Bella grinned.

Leah shook her head. "And here we all thought you were sweet and innocent… what ever happened to the good girl we all know and love?"

"Oh I am a good girl. Ask your brother… I'm VERY good at what I do." She teased with a wink, giggling when Leah pretended to gag.

The two rode back to Bella's house twenty minutes later. Leah borrowed a small space in Bella's fridge to place her milk as the two talked. Bella told her to sit down while she gathered out the ingredients she needed and started making French toast and grinned when Leah complied. She pulled out one of the blue and white candy canes from the box, opened it and stuck the end in her mouth.

Leah only shook her head. Her sister-in-law was too much sometimes.

Bella giggled when doors down the hallway opened after the bacon got tossed into the pan. Her oldest son- six year old Caleb- poked his head around the corner and blinked before clambering into his aunts waiting arms. He snuggled into her, soaking in her body heat as he rubbed at his tired chocolate brown eyes.

"Hey little buddy… have a good sleep?" Leah cooed, kissing the side of Caleb's head.

Caleb only yawned and laid his head on her chest.

"Get ready.." Bella warned.

The piter patter of tiny feet racing towards the kitchen had been the only warning either woman got. Two heads peeked around the corner causing Bella to turn her attention back to breakfast in an effort to hide her smile. Her twins may have been the perfect mix of her and Seth, but they were definitely more like their dad than Bella.

"Good morning you two." Leah grinned when the three year olds started fussing over the chair beside their aunt.

"Liam! Noel! Come on you two… stop fighting! It's too early for that this morning." Bella scolded, picking Liam up resting him on her hip while Noel pulled herself into the seat by Leah.

"Seth must have done an extra shift yesterday again. He's usually up by now." Bella mused.

"He did." Leah grinned. "Paul watched the kids while you were at work yesterday. That's how I know."

Bella sighed and shook her head. "I love that man, but sometimes he drives me nuts." She huffed while plating up the food, still balancing Liam on her hip.

Leah placed Caleb in the seat on the opposite side of her and took Liam from Bella so she could put the food on the table. "So pay him back." She grinned.

Bella only raised at eyebrow at her in question.

"Let me take the kids. We'll make a day of it. I'll take them to Port Angeles with me." She suggested.

"You sure?" Bella checked.

Leah rolled her eyes. "I can call Emily and Kim if you want. Ashleigh and Angela are sick right now."

"You'd put up with the other imprints… just so I could have a day to fool around with your brother?" Bella smirked.

"Don't push it… you know you and Angela are the only two I like…" Leah huffed.

Bella grinned. "What's wrong with Ashleigh?" She knew well what was wrong with the girl. Ever since Jacob had taken over as Alpha, Ashleigh had become a thorn in their sides. She thought bagging the Alpha gave her authority.

Leah growled. "WHY you haven't said anything is beyond me." She huffed using her thumb to wipe some syrup from Noel's chin.

"Because I'm too polite- same as the rest. And because she doesn't do it in front of the other wolves. She only acts like a snob around us. And we can handle her." Bella sighed.

"You still haven't given me an answer Bella… do you want me to take the kids or not?" Leah already knew the answer. Seth and Bella barely had any time together anymore with Christmas looming closer and closer.

Bella bit her lip in thought. She loved her kids and loved them being home. But, on the other hand, she loved Seth too. And she hadn't seen her wolf during the day in over three weeks. She'd been missing him lately.

"So?" Leah asked, her tone bored as she inspected her nails. They were in need of a trimming- even if Paul loved it when she left marks in his skin.

Bella grinned. "Ok. I owe you **so** big for this."

"Uh huh. You do." Leah teased, helping her clear the table. "Now… come on guys. Lets go get ready. I'm taking you three with me to the aquarium."

"FISH!" Liam squealed. Noel followed him as the two jumped around Bella's legs. Caleb only raced off to his room to get dressed by himself.

Ten minutes later, Leah had Caleb nearly ready to go. All he needed was his other shoe. She had to fight her laughter when she heard her brother's curses under his breath. He'd just noticed Bella in the twins room with a candy cane in her mouth.

"Daddy!" Liam grinned toddling over to Seth.

Bella helped Noel stand after fastening her shoes in place. She turned to Seth and grinned. "Hey sleepy head." She cooed when he stood.

Seth smiled and gathered her into his arms. He nearly moaned when she pulled the candy cane from her mouth to give him a kiss. He envied that piece of candy as it popped back into her mouth. His wife's lips were nearly sinful.

"Going somewhere?" Seth wondered when he saw the twins outfits.

Noel beamed. "Gonna see fish daddy!"

Seth arched an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"

"Daddy! Aunt Leah's taking us to the 'Quarum!" Caleb crowed racing towards Seth.

"Aquarium, baby." Bella corrected. "Leah offered." She added holding her hands up in a placating gesture.

Seth rolled his eyes. "Ok. What's the catch?"

"No catch little brother. Bella needs to get stuff done around here, and the kids have been a pain lately. I already talked to Kim and Emily. They're going to meet us there with their kids." Leah said from the hallway.

Seth's eyes were wide as he stared at his sister. "Now I **really** wanna know what the catch is. You **never** do anything with the other imprints." He pointed out with a confused frown.

Bella shook her head. "Baby.. You're not complaining are you?" She purred.

He swallowed. "Um… well… uh… no… I'm not." He decided he'd let it go. Leah would be careful, and Sam would more than likely ask Brady or Collin to tag along for extra protection- not that Leah wasn't enough, but if something were to happen she'd not be the only wolf there.

Leah shook her head. Her brother had NO idea what lay in store for him.

Poor Seth.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

"_Think she's still at it_?" Embry asked the closer they got to Seth and Bella's house. He'd had to listen to Seth rant for a half an hour about how he hated candy canes. They were evil. Embry sighed, only too thankful Angela wasn't cruel like Bella- even if she didn't know she'd been doing it. She'd teased Seth until he'd left for patrol with the sweet candy treats as she'd finished her chores and decorated the house for Christmas.

"_Fuck if I know! I hate those damn thing! Stupid candy canes! Who ever created them needs to be shot! She just about KILLED me all damn day long… one after another… mmmm her lips wrapped around-_"

"_Seth! Stop! Stop dude… __**damn**_!" Embry whined and shook his giant head trying to rid himself of the images Seth had put on display: Images of his best friend on her knees with her mouth occupied, of her bent over the dining room table, of her in the shower, of her on her hands and knees. They were images he didn't want to see **ever** again.

_ "Sorry Em… can't help it… I'm gonna go in… maybe Bella will have gotten the teasing out of her system."_

_ "Hey Seth, you still here?"_

_ "Yeah, what's up Paul?"_

"_Leah said to let you know the kids are gonna be at our place tonight… she said Bella and her talked about it this morning… something about you two needing a break_?"

"_Yeah… I'll just __**bet**__ they talked about it this morning… poor Seth… thank __**GOD**__ Bella and Angela don't pull that crap_!" Even miffed for showing him private thoughts of his best friend, Embry still felt for the sandy furred wolf. No man should have to put up with that- supernatural or not.

"_Pull what crap_?"

Paul rolled on the ground, laughing inside the shared head space of the pack mind as Seth replayed image after image of Bella cleaning the house in a pair of daisy duke cut offs, a tiny spaghetti strap tank top and one candy cane after another- an endless supply of them- stuck between her lips.

Any time he'd tried to touch her while she'd been decorating or adding last minute touches, his hands would be slapped away- all while watching her suck away on the dreaded red and white sticks of peppermint and sugar coated evil. If he never saw another one of the things he'd die a happy- and sane- man.

"Just remember…. Bella talked to my sister- **your** wife, Paul." Seth told him.

Embry snorted when the silver furred wolf fell silent. Payback would surely be a bitch.

Seth sighed. He phased out and headed up to the back porch. He'd built it to be screened in so the kids could have a place to play in the spring and summer without worry of mosquito's at night. It also had a side area with a tub and a drain… if need be, he rinsed off before stepping into the house.

After today he knew he'd have to rinse off before entering the house. He didn't want to risk getting on his wife's bad side- Lord knew **what** she'd do to pay him back for it. Torturing him with candy canes had been cruel and unusual enough. What next then? Edible body paint?

Mmm… now **there** was an idea.

Seth's eyes closed as he thought about Bella tied to their four poster, California king sized bed while his tongue slid around her paint covered nipples. He frowned when he looked down his body, greeted by the sight of his hard dick. He wouldn't be able to hide it from Bella.

"Bella?" He frowned when he noticed more lights out in the house than usual.

"In here baby!"

Seth grinned. Typical. She more than likely lay curled up in their bed reading. He'd married the ultimate book worm. But he loved her none the less.

"Bella… you reading baby?" He asked, a grin on his lips as he moved through the house.

He paused in the doorway, his mouth open in shock. He found Bella laying across the covers on her stomach- a book open in front of her and a candy cane in her mouth- in the skimpiest set of lingerie he'd ever seen. Lace and mesh see through in a deep red color that had his dying hard on coming alive full force.

"Baby…"

Bella grinned and pulled the candy cane from her mouth with a pop. "Hey baby! Have a good patrol?"

He nodded, walking over to her. His eyes closed as he inhaled. Sandalwood candles filled the air, but underneath that he smelled nothing but Bella. Rich, heady, vanilla and cherry, cinnamon and sage- two of her favorite spices to use while cooking and baking- and something so uniquely her. He growled and watched as she closed her book. She turned over onto her back, watching him as he crawled onto the bed.

"You've been teasing me all day Bella…" He whispered crawling over her.

She licked her lips. "You gonna punish me for it?" She asked with a sweet tone, though her eyes betrayed the lust she felt growing for him.

Seth's eyes closed when her fingers danced over the firm muscles of his abdomen, teasing the skin as they danced down to the towel still wrapped around his waist. With a sudden growl he grabbed her wrists and pinned them in one hand above her head. He smirked when he saw the surprise in her eyes.

"I think, _my little mate_…" He purred while leaning down to kiss her neck, "I should give you a taste of your own medicine." He grinned when her bra was ripped from her body eliciting a gasp from her lips.

Bella arched against him as he trailed his fingers over her body. He teased and pinched at her nipples, smirking when she tried to dance and squirm away. He wasn't having it and grinned when she started to whimper. The grin turned to a smirk when she gasped as he ripped the fabric of her thong from her body. He loved hearing the noises that fell from her mouth when they were in bed together.

He let her hands go and kissed a trail from the sensitive spot behind her ear where his mark sat on her neck, down to her collar bone, finally to her nipples where his tongue laved them into hard nubs. He moved down her torso, stopping to nip her skin with his teeth when she got too quiet. He parted her thighs and inhaled. He loved the smell of her.

Bella's back arched off the bed at the first touch of his tongue to her outer folds. Her hands gripped at the covers as he licked her soaked core. The waves of pleasure within her body grew in intensity, becoming nearly violent, threatening to throw her over the edge of bliss too soon. Her quiet pleas increased in volume as his fingers were added to the equation. Their eyes met as she looked down her body at him.

"Seth… please…" Her legs shook with the need for release. "Please… I'm so close."

With a growl, he pulled away from her. "Not yet. I told you… punishment." He said as he crawled back over her body.

Bella smiled and pulled him down completely on top of her, her legs moving to wrap around his waist. She knew he didn't like it- he felt he would crush her- but she loved feeling him against her. She nibbled his bottom lip before meeting his mouth in a demanding kiss. She moaned when she tasted herself on his tongue, her body reacting to the delectable sounds she dragged from the man above her.

From her husband.

She broke the kiss and whined. "Please…"

Seth bit back the groan that rested on his lips, opting instead to attack her neck with hungry kisses. "Please what?" He finally whispered.

Their hips moved together, building a delicious friction- a crescendo of lust growing with an insatiable appetite. Seth could only take so much more himself before he took her. Bella whimpered again, her back arching as she felt the head of his hard and eager cock dipping inside the slick walls of her pussy.

"Please what, Bella." He asked again, the deep timbre in his voice resonating within his chest as he whispered in her ear.

He let her know he was in charge through his actions. And oh, how she loved it. Only she ever got to see the dominant side of him. The side none of the others believed he possessed. This was her wolf.

"Please! Seth, I can't take this! I need you!" She wasn't above begging him.

Seth smirked and rocked his hips back and forth above her. Each time he did, he slid deeper inside her awaiting heat. "I'm supposed to be punishing you. But I need you too baby." He murmured against her lips.

"Take me baby. Fuck me. Please." She purred.

Seth growled. He wanted to keep teasing her. But they were both so close to the edge, there would be time later for soft and slow. She begged to be taken, and he wanted to give her what she wanted. He placed his lips over hers in a soul searing kiss. He bent her legs up and dropped her knees over his shoulders. The angle had him sliding deeper within her body.

His hips slammed into hers, all pretenses of gentleness gone. This was strength and power. They'd been missing this for the better part of three weeks- far too long if you asked the wolf in Seth. They both needed this. He never took his eyes off of her, letting her see just how in love with her he felt. Echoing screams filled the room, spilling out into their thankfully empty house. Seth emptied himself within her as the two rode out the waves of bliss.

He fell beside her, trying to reclaim the breath that had been stolen from his lungs. "Love you." He whispered kissing her cheek.

She smiled. "Love you too."

"Do me a favor, huh Bella?" He mused after they'd calmed down completely.

She rolled to the side and looked up at him. "What's that baby?"

"Next time you want me to fuck you like that, don't tease me all day…. As much as I love that you taste like peppermint… there's got to be other ways to get my attention. Don't tease me…" He whined.

Bella let out a peal of laughter. She shook her head and smiled. "So should I just put the candy canes away?"

Seth thought about it. "Nah… I love watching you suck on em. Gives me ideas." He grinned before rolling to cover her body with his own.

He held her later as she slept, his fingers running through her long curls. He mused that he didn't hate candy canes as much as he thought.


	15. Winter Snow

**Title:** Winter Snow

**Pairing**: Quil/Bella

**Rating**: T

**Genre:** Friendship, Romance

**Summary: **

Bella comes home for a visit after six years of living in the warmest place she can stand while battling the constant ache of home sickness. After graduating college with a teaching degree under her belt she's finally ready to face the snow again. Quil finally tells her just why she's missed the snow so much and she couldn't be happier.

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie Meyer…

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~) **

Jacob grinned as he made his way into his garage. He'd finally opened a proper one on the reservation. He'd nearly put every other mechanic in Forks and Port Angeles out of business along the way. He'd been completely fair, and instead of dictating his work, he did it on his own. His two best friends arched their eyebrows when he walked through the door whistling.

"What's got you in a good mood this morning?" Quil wondered.

Jacob smirked. "I just heard some good news, that's all."

"He heard from Bella in other words." Embry grinned. "How is she?"

Jacob laughed. Embry cared, but he still had reservations about the girl. It'd only been six years since she'd left the state of Washington. Embry had held out hope that she'd drop her leech of a boyfriend. He'd been thankful she'd woken up and done exactly that. But then she left too. Just like that. No words of goodbye. She'd just left.

Paul's body slid out from under the truck where he'd been working. "Yeah, how is the leech lover extraordinaire?" He may have been Jacob's brother-in-law, but Bella would always be a sore subject for him.

Jacob growled in warning. He'd phased the same as his other friends. He'd been cursed -just like them- to turn into a giant wolf in order to protect his tribe from vampires. But it wasn't Bella's fault she'd been enthralled by the family that had lived in town. Edward Cullen still sat at the top of his kill on sight list. He always would.

"Haven't you learned not to antagonize him by now Paul?" Quil wondered as he worked to change the air filter in a customers car. It would be the last thing he needed to do to it before the customer could come and get it from the shop.

Paul only rolled his eyes and pulled himself back under the truck. He'd gotten over the hate he held for Bella- mostly. Now he just treated her with indifference. He only shrugged and rolled himself back under the truck. He pointed out that Jacob still hadn't given them an answer to his earlier asked question.

"She just graduated. Charlie got home an hour ago.. Had my dad on the phone as soon as he got through his door. She said she's coming home after she packs her things into her truck." Jacob finally told them as he made his way to his office.

Paul wheeled himself out from under the truck and sat up in mild interest. He looked from Quil to Embry then back again. In the space of two minutes the three crowded doorway firing question after question at Jacob. They couldn't help it. Even their wolves were excited by the fact they would see her again.

Jacob sighed and shook his head. "She'll be here in a few days. I know you've seen the pictures in my house just like the rest of us. Now go. I'm not saying another word!" He huffed with a playful smile on his face.

A howl tore through the bay of the garage not fifteen minutes later. Four more followed the first. Jacob's head poked out of his office and checked in the customer waiting area. Quil had just sent the last customer out the door with her keys in her hand. He locked said door, flipped the sign to closed and turned to face his friend.

Paul and Embry closed the bay doors down, locked and secured them and as a unit they made their way out the back door. Even though Bella had gone, the vampire activity had stayed the same as ever. Stupid leeches were attracted to the cloudy skies. Jacob huffed and seamlessly shifted. As soon as he landed on all four paws, the alpha in him took over his mind. In next to no time, his pack had killed the small clan who had even dared think they were safe while on his land.

"_Hey Sam, guess who's coming home_…" Paul just had to rub it in as they headed back towards town.

"_Paul_…" Jacob growled in warning. They were friends and pack-mates- Paul had even married his sister- but the silver wolf still annoyed him to no end sometimes.

Sam shook his head. Now Jacob knew how he'd felt while he had been alpha.

Jacob rolled his eyes musing that Sam could shove it while thanking the spirits above that the others could only hear him if he so chose. He sighed and nipped at Embry's heels when the wolf tried to pounce him and missed. He loved his pack, but they were kids… the lot of them.

"_So who's coming? We were never told_." Sam needled.

Jared barked out a laugh. "_You sound like an old woman… eager for gossip, are we Sam_?"

Quil thought about her first before Paul could say anything. Sam and Jared stopped short and stared at the brown wolf. His thoughts of the woman were less than innocent. The days he and Bella had spent together when he hadn't phased yet flashed through his mind- right down to thoughts the last week before he phased when they'd come so close to sharing his bed. The pack saw it all- down to his memory of how soft her lips had felt against his own, how her skin had tasted-

"_**Enough**__! Phase out and go home_!"

The others were smart enough to leave. They hated seeing Jacob mad. Embry, however, stayed phased with his two childhood friends. He'd always had his suspicions that Quil harbored feelings for Bella- even after he phased. Now he knew for sure. Little did he know, Jacob shared those same suspicions.

"_When_?" Jacob's voice stayed steady- the hurt he felt at not being trusted to know eating at him.

Quil sighed and hung his lupine head, not daring to look at either of his friends. His thoughts were… oddly subdued. Neither Embry or Jacob liked it.

"_Quil_?" Embry hedged.

"_We hung out a lot when we thought you two had completely ditched us. When you guys left me in the woods… I just wanted to know what I'd done wrong… it sucked you know? Bella got it. We just… we clicked. Anyway… Bella had been teased by the skank and her disciple… we didn't move beyond a few kisses… she didn't want that then_…"

"_When, Quil_?"

"_Jake… come on… he didn't take advantage of her_…" Embry sat in front of Quil to offer his support. He was always in the middle of the two.

Jacob huffed. "_I __**know**__ that. I'm not pissed about __**that**__. We all would have known if they'd fucked. Well the pack would at least. Neither of them told us_!"

Quil's head shot up to look at his alpha. "_**That's**__ why you're so pissed_?"

"_I got friend zoned quick, Quil. Bella made sure to let me know that's all I'd ever be. She never told me it was because you two liked each other_." Jacob huffed.

"_It's just an old crush. Damn pack mind_." Quil sighed.

Embry snorted but kept his thoughts quiet- he'd been the only one to master the trick other than Sam and Jacob. They phased, dressed and took off walking back to the garage. They found Paul with his head stuck under the hood of an expensive car by the time they walked back into the garage. Embry whistled. He sighed and shook his head. To make the kind of money to own **that** kind of car…

"_Damn_ she's a beauty!" Quil murmured before heading into the office to file a few receipts he'd left out before they left.

A chuckle sounded from under the hood. They couldn't see it, but Paul definitely had to agree. The Hellcat could be considered a lead foot's wet dream. Someone had to have some **serious** cash to own the 2015 model too.

"She rides smooth in case you're wondering." A voice said from behind them. They all knew that voice.

Embry reached her first. "_Damn_ woman! It's been too long! You grew up and got a tan Bella!" He teased.

"Bells! Not that I'm complaining… but what the hell? And why the hell's your car being looked at if it's brand new?" Jacob asked pulling her into a hug.

Bella grinned. "I just spent the better part of 20 hours driving. I hit La Push and got something in my tire. Gear head over there just wanted to get a hard on looking under the hood."

Paul huffed. "It stinks like the Cullens inside though!"

Bella rolled her eyes. "Don't **all** vamps smell the same wolf boy? And before you four get all huffy… the car was a present. Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper left the Cullen coven… we've kept in touch over the years through emails and such. Jasper drove it down to me… said it was to replace the monstrosity that was my truck."

Quil took that moment to pop his head out of the office. He couldn't take not seeing her anymore. "Hey loca! We missed you around here." He said with a grin.

It wasn't missed on the other wolves how Bella's eyes lit up when she saw him. Even Paul stopped to stare. They all saw Quil become more animated- his smile wider, his laugh happier, his steps more bouncy and his eyes brighter- as he talked to her.

"Imprint?"

Paul's question- that one word- stopped everything.

Quil nodded. "Yeah…"

They were floored. "But…"

"Dude…" Not even Paul could say anything. If he left Rachel's side for more than six hours he shook… more than _twelve_ hours and he wanted

to tear holes in the walls.

There were tears in Bella's eyes. "You never said a word!"

"Your choice, Bella." Quil reminded her. It must have meant more than the pack knew because she gasped, her hands raising to her mouth.

Embry leaned closer to Jacob. "You got any idea?"

"Nope." he grinned when Bella hugged Quil tight to her. "But she's gonna stay."

"How do you know?" Paul wondered.

Jacob nodded his head. "Just a feeling. You know.. She **always** asked about Quil- even after talking to him on the phone and I can guarantee you… when she told Edward she was in love with someone else… it was Quil."

"How'd we miss it?" Embry asked.

Quil rolled his eyes having heard them talking. "Not all of us are open books. I just never thought about the imprint when it counted. By the time I **did** think about it… you all thought it was wishful thinking… a what if kind of thing."

"Well _damn_, Ateara…" Paul smirked.

Bella sighed. "I guess it's a good thing I'm moving back, huh."

They all stared at her. She grinned. "I already cleared it with Billy. He's gonna let me teach on the rez." She said with a shrug.

Quil couldn't help it. He gathered her into his arms and kissed her within an inch of her life. "And here I thought it'd be another boring winter."

"Nope. Not now." She grinned.

Not even Paul could say anything bad. Even if he wanted to… she was pack. She'd opened her eyes, broken the hold the walking popsicle had on her, and was finally with the wolf she'd been meant to have in her life. He could live with it.

"Aren't you going to miss the sun…and the heat?" Jacob teased.

Bella only smiled. After living in the California sun, she wanted to live with the Washington rain and snow. "I could do with some rain and snow." She finally said.

"It's good to have you home, loca." Embry grinned.

Quil grinned. "I couldn't agree more."

"I couldn't either." She said before wrapping her arms around his neck to kiss him.


	16. The Magic of Winter

**Title:** The Magic of Winter

**Pairing**: Jared/ Bella

**Rating**: T

**Genre:** Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Romance

**Summary: **

Edward promised he'd stay, but after coming home from Arizona, he leaves anyways once she's better. The same week Charlie leaves for an out of town training seminar is the same week the pack learns that Bella was enthralled by Edward and left with a vengeful vampire after her. A chance meeting has Jared coming face to face with his forever.

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie Meyer…

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~) **

**Author's note: **

I'm changing the time line in this…Bella knows about the pack no thanks to Jacob letting her in on the secret… the only ones who haven't phased at this point are Collin and Brady.. And Emily isn't with Sam… and Leah isn't a wolf… but she knows about them…

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~) **

Bella sighed and pulled her attention from the book she'd been reading. The house had become too quiet. It nearly depressed her to say the least. She'd started her senior year alone. Her friends- if she could call them that- were in Port Angeles for the day, shopping and she had stayed home to read in silence. She hated shopping.

Her cell phone chimed alerting her to a new call. She smiled when she saw her dad's face on the screen. "Hey dad.. Everything ok?"

"Yeah kiddo. Just wanted to let you know, I'm gonna be late. The roads are icy and I'm gonna patrol around town to make sure people aren't doing anything stupid, ok."

"Sure thing dad. Do you still want me to make dinner now or wait?" She checked.

"Why don't we go out as soon as I get home. We can go to the diner. It'll give you a break and get us both out of the house."

"Sure… sounds good." She grinned even though he couldn't see it.

An hour later saw Bella and her dad- Charlie Swan- sitting in a booth at the diner looking over the menu. "So… Bells… listen. I know you and Jake aren't talking right now… but… I've gotta go out of town for a week… I'll be home for Christmas, don't worry. I talked to Billy… he said you could crash there so at least you wouldn't be alone."

"Dad… what? No! I'm **not** staying with Billy… he's a good person, but I don't want to run into Jake." Bella sighed. "I'm 18! I can stay on my own. It's only a week! I can get the house decorated while you're gone too."

"At _least_ let him send someone to help you decorate the outside of the house so you don't kill yourself?" Charlie finally conceded.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Fine… but… not Jake. He's still on the '_not talking to you right now_' list." She told him with the use of air quotes to show she'd been teasing.

"Sure Bells. Whatever you say." Charlie said with a chuckle.

Dinner ran smooth after that and before she knew it they were back home and she had started helping him pack. He liked to think he did it on his own, but Bella had his things ready and waiting for him by the front door. He had to be on the road early in the morning and the help had been greatly appreciated. With a sigh, the lights were out and they were both in bed.

Nights were easier now that it had turned cold. It reminded her of him. The one being she never wanted to forget, and yet- as time passed- faded more and more from her mind. By the time she graduated, she mused he'd be just another face in the yearbook- as he promised her he would be. Another name to write down at graduation reunions that he and his family would never attend.

She yawned and closed her eyes. Sleep found her eventually, and with it, came the reminder of just WHY Edward had left. Angry eyes haunted her. Glass shards slicing into her skin, bones snapping and jagged wounds giving way to the precious life source flooding through her veins as she bled out on the floor. All of it connected her to the monsters in her head. She never yelled anymore, she just pushed past the nightmares, woke herself, told herself it had already happened and James had died. Nothing would get her now that the danger had passed.

If only she knew.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Bella jerked awake from her place in the recliner to the sounds of knocking on the front door. She marked her place in her book and stumbled on her way to open it. Her eyebrow arched when she took note of three oldest wolves on her doorstep. She sighed when Paul sneered at her.

"Sup leech lover?" He asked, his tone bored.

"Can't you sing a different tune? That one is well worn out by now." Bella quipped while rolling her eyes.

Paul only smirked. "We were sent to help decorate your house so you don't kill yourself. Not that we would _mind_, you know."

"Enough Paul." Sam sighed. "Billy said your dad left the outdoor lights in the living room?"

Bella motioned for them to come in with a sigh and another roll of her eyes. She pointed to the box then took a seat in the recliner again. She opened her book, intent to read some more of it, when all three of them stopped and looked up the stairwell.

"What's wrong? Did the stairs move?" She teased.

Paul rolled his eyes. "It's smells like a leech nest up there. Did he ever come in the house?"

"Sometimes. We did homework together. Dad wouldn't let him stay too long though. He didn't like it." She shrugged. She didn't want to tell them that he spent his nights in her rocking chair watching her sleep.

Sam held up a hand to stop Paul before he said anything. "Your dad had amazing instincts. I only wish you wouldn't have been a target to them." He sighed.

Bella frowned. A knock on the door had her moving to open it. She thanked the mailman who had been asked to walk the mail up to the front door for the week so Bella wouldn't slip on the sidewalk. Living in a small town had its perks.

The first sign that alerted them to something being wrong had been the excess mail dropping from her limp fingers. The second sign had been her paling face. The third sign had been the lone tear drop rolling down her porcelain cheek.

Jared rushed to catch her as she started to fall backwards and had to hold his breath. The paper held in her now trembling hands smelled to high heaven of leech. His eyes met those of his pack-mates. He didn't know what to do as Bella started hyperventilating in his strong arms while he cradled her protectively to his chest.

"Bella?" Sam tried, wondering how he could handle a pack of teenage werewolves but the sight of a crying girl sent his wolf on edge in an instant.

"That paper stinks, Sam… the fuck?" Paul muttered.

Jared sighed. He had a kid sister who'd just got through '_the worst break up in her entire life' _(because at 14 it had been just horrible to break up with her one true love). He picked her up and moved to the couch pulling her into his lap with her head tucked under his chin.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked her in a hushed voice.

Her lip wobbled. "It's from Emmett… Edward didn't tell them I said goodbye… he wanted to wish me a merry Christmas. He said Edward found his mate…"

Sam watched her. "That's not all is it?" He asked.

"He said he felt sorry for how Edward enthralled me… tried to manipulate me… and then nearly killed me when I had been so dazed… he tried to make Edward stop… they all did… but Edward said he loved me…"

"He what?!" Even Paul got defensive now. Sam and Jared growled as well. Their wolves didn't like hearing that information.

Bella's eyes closed. "Everything about them… their looks, their mannerisms… the way they talk, dress, act… it's all to draw their prey to them. Sometimes they come across the perfect prey… they call them a singer. They enthrall them… draw them in… then kill them. Only Edward didn't want to kill me right away… he wanted to keep me I guess… then James found me…"

"Who is James?" Jared asked when she stopped talking.

Her face buried into his chest, inhaling the scents of pine, sage, and burning wood. Three of her favorite smells. "He wanted me because they tried protecting me. I was the ultimate prey. Seven vampires protecting me… a fragile, stupid human girl. He wanted to prove that he could get past them and destroy the one thing they wanted to keep alive." She scoffed.

Paul noticed her holding her wrist and arched an eyebrow. "What's wrong with your wrist, Swan?"

"Is that why you left to Arizona?" Sam asked at the same time.

Bella nodded. "I wanted him away from my dad. Charlie didn't deserve it. And when James called and said he had my mom… I met him… I didn't know they could mimic voices until I met him there… I'll never forget the fire…or the pain.."

"Fire?"

"Pain?"

She stayed silent long enough that Jared tipped her face up to look at him. When their eyes locked, he lost his breath. Even Paul and Sam were left speechless. They had already imprinted, they knew that look. Sam had Leah- the light of his life if you asked him. And Paul had Kim. And now Jared had Bella.

"Bella?" Jared and Bella both looked at Sam, who held his hand out to the cuff link on her wrist. "May I?"

She sighed. "If you must."

They all stared in horror when the bite mark became visible to their eyes. Bella's lip quivered in memory. Jared kissed her temple- instinct to comfort his mate- and closed his eyes to calm himself. He didn't want Bella close by when he phased, so he bottled the anger up and pushed it aside for the time being.

"Why aren't you a member of the undead yet?" Paul wondered. "And what else was in the mail that had you acting like a toddler who was told her dog died?"

Bella chuckled some. "Emmett sucked the venom out of my blood. He said he didn't want to see me die when I had so much to look forward to yet. Now I guess I don't huh.. Not that it matters at all.. Victoria is a bitch.. She'll see me killed one way or another." She huffed, a humorless laugh following in it's wake.

"What're you talking about, Swan? You're speaking in riddles…" Paul huffed.

"What would either of you do if someone killed your mate?" She asked them.

Even Jared growled causing Bella to sigh. "That's what I thought. I killed James- now she's gonna kill me. It's that simple." She shrugged.

They were taken back by her nonchalant attitude. Even Paul now worried for her. From what he'd just learned, she had no control over falling for Edward- something he'd never forgive them for doing. And now she had a crazy vampire after her intent on ending her life all because her mate died while trying to make a meal out of Bella.

Sam sighed. "It's not gonna happen… you have people to protect you now. You have friends to keep you safe."

"And who is that Sam? _You? The pack_? I'm **not** pack- remember? That's been made _blatantly_ clear." She sneered, her eyes turning cold as she stared at Paul. For his part, the silver wolf lowered his head looking properly chastised.

Jared sighed. "Can I talk to her…. Alone?" He asked with a glare to his friends.

Bella sighed and slipped off of Jared's lap to sit beside him on the couch. She waited patiently for him to get his thoughts together. She drug her knees to her chest, wrapped her arms around her legs and just watched him. Even without him being a wolf, he still looked gorgeous. Tall, tanned, muscled, fit… down to the dimples when he smiled.

Jared sighed and turned to her, making sure Paul and Sam had definitely gone outside before he talked to her. He knew they would still hear everything they said, but it gave them some illusion of privacy this way. He caught her eye again and gave her a slight smile.

"So… you wanted to talk to me?" She prompted.

Jared cleared his throat. "Uh yeah… um… see… here's the thing… you know we're wolves… you know about the pack… but… there's still a few things you don't know about- I hope."

"Are you gonna tell me?" She wondered.

He sighed. "I'm trying to… ugh… you're my imprint and I can't even find a way to talk to you!" He growled.

"What's an imprint?" She wondered. The confusion deepened when he stiffened at her side.

Jared sighed and hung his head. "You're my forever. The spirits point us to our imprints.. The women who were made for us.. We'll be whatever they need- or want- without complaint. We're protective of them, we're loyal to them, and we come to love them in the end."

Bella noted that Jared still hadn't looked at her- as if he were afraid she'd be mad at him. "So how do you find them? Your imprints?"

"Just one look in the woman's eyes. The wolf just knows. That one look is all we need to tell us our forever is right in front of us." He sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. "It's her choice though…"

"What does that mean? 'Her choice?' Don't you have a say in it too?" She asked.

Jared smiled. "Nope. Once an imprint takes place… it's done and over with for us. No other woman is even desirable to the wolf. I could fight it if I wanted too…"

"Do you?" She whispered while looking down at her feet.

Jared watched as she waited on baited breath from the corner of his eye. He sighed and shook his head. The leeches had done a number on her- just up and leaving her addicted to them as she had been. And now she doubted herself. He'd seen her fight her way out of the hell she'd been dumped into and he hated that she still did this to herself now.

He turned himself to face her and used his index finger to lift her chin. His thumb ran over her bottom lip, of it's own accord as he ducked his head somewhat to catch her eyes. He slid his hand up to cup her cheek as he offered her a gentle smile.

"No." It had been one word only, but it put a smile on her face regardless.

She eyed him for a minute, worrying her lower lip as she did. "You sure?"

Jared grinned and pressed his forehead to hers. "I'm positive. And I'm not gonna let the frozen bitch with a stick up her rear end get her fangs in your skin either." He promised her.

"Just yours right?" She teased. She looked up at him when he tensed.

"I-if that's what you want…" He whispered.

She sighed. "Maybe. Can we start as friends first?"

"I think I like that." He grinned.

Paul and Sam shook their heads and continued to hang lights outside from the roof. Sam chuckled and Paul snorted. They'd heard the entire conversation. Leave it to Jared to make her feel completely at ease.

"It's gotta be something about the winter." Paul finally mused. "I imprinted on Kim… you imprinted on Emily… all around winter time… and now Jared imprinted on Bella…it's gotta be something about the snow."

Sam shrugged. Thinking about Emily had him thanking her for choosing to have a best friend- something his wolf knew she needed more than a lover. She'd given him the best present of all the previous winter. Leah had been ready to watch him leave her for her own cousin, only for Emily to say she'd never come between that. She chose to be their best friend. "It's magic."

"Magic…" Paul scoffed and shook his head again. He sighed and hung another bit of the icicle lights. "Yeah… we'll go with that. It's just magic."


	17. The Christmas Play

**Title:** The Christmas Play

**Pairing**: Brady/Bella

**Rating**: T

**Genre:** Hurt/ Comfort, Friendship

**Summary: **

Bella and Brady have always been talented. Brady with his art, Bella with her voice. When Brady's home is vandalized and his parents murdered, he's sent to La Push to live with his Grandmother. A Christmas play pushes them together and Brady is finally able to find some peace.

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie Meyer…

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~) **

**Author's Note:**

So, this is an AH piece. The school their in is also not a typical school. In my head it's a school for the arts… they still learn match, science, history and English, but… they have special classes too geared towards their talents… if that makes sense.

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~) **

Brady sighed and looked up at the towering red and black brick building with skepticism and disdain. This school- if it could be called that- looked nothing like the school he'd been enrolled in while he'd lived in Seattle. That school had been friendly and welcoming with its warm earth tones and wooden accents. This school looked sinister in its appearance. The gothic structure, colors, even the tinted glass windows and spires at the top of the building caused him to frown.

How did students even learn here?

How he wanted to find the person responsible for the fire that stole his parents from him. He'd teach them a thing or two- even at 16. He shook his head and sighed. His grandmother still grieved their loss, but she tried to be strong for him. He'd learn from her example.

With another sigh, he adjusted the strap of his messenger bag and pulled the front door open. He stood completely shocked by the cheer and color inside the building. The laughter and friendly banter assaulted his ears and had him taking a deep breath to collect himself. The posters, murals, banners and sculptures took him by surprise and left him in awe. It felt like home.

"Hi, can I help you?" A sweet voice asked from his left.

He turned to frown but froze. "Uh… um… y-yeah… I'm new… here… I'm new here." He stuttered. The girl he'd been talking to- trying at least- must have been at least six foot. "I'm Brady Fuller…"

"Well that explains the awed look. You're the new guy I've been waiting to greet. Come on then… I'll take you to the office then show you around the school. I'm Angela Webber. I'm also studying art, so we'll more than likely have some of the same classes." She said with a smile.

"Oh… cool… I think." He still looked shocked. "Don't take this as me being rude… but you're tall for a girl."

She grinned. "Don't worry, I'm the only one here like this I promise. I get it from my dad. He's tall too."

Brady nodded. He'd gotten his height from his dad, as well as his looks. His lips, ears and hair had come from his mom- to balance it out as she had always teased him. "So… is the school crowded?" He asked eying the students filling the hallways.

"Nah, we just got out of an assembly… the principle loves having them. He wanted to let us know about the annual Christmas play." She said with a roll of her eyes. "Hey! Bella!"

Brady watched Angela wave to a girl standing next to three guys. He arched an eyebrow and took in their appearance. They were native too- he'd seen them a few times on the reservation. All of them were massive in height and bulk. Well muscled, tan, and each of them could pass for secret security.

Bella, on the other hand, looked gorgeous. She had a petite figure, like he liked girls, but she had curves as well and appeared to be well endowed. Her hair looked wavy and hung down to her waist, and when she looked his way, her chocolate brown eyes captivated him. Her lips were full and completely kissable and they quirked into a smile when she saw her friend.

"Hey Angela! You pick up a stray?" She teased.

"Don't mind her. She doesn't mean any harm in it. Guys, this is Brady- the new art student. Brady, this is Bella Swan, Jacob Black, Quil Ateara- the fifth- and my boyfriend, Embry Call." Angela said with a grin while pointing to each boy when she named them.

Brady smiled and gave them a slight wave. "Hey.."

"You're from the rez, huh." Quil asked.

Brady nodded. "Yeah, just moved there."

"You gonna give us any more info than that?" He asked trying to sound tough.

"Nope." Brady shrugged. "Sorry… don't know you well enough." He eyed Jacob and Embry when they snickered.

"Quil… go stare in a mirror or something." Bella quipped with a roll of her eyes. "Don't mind him. He's harmless."

"Aw… come on Bells… how else are we supposed to know if he can hang with us or not? He might be a pussy or something!"

Brady had to hide his smile as both Angela and Bella smacked the back of Quil's head.

Bella turned to Brady. "Embry here is an art student too… he's a sweet guy regardless of the badass looks. Quil is into dance and drama- hence the act- and Jake, my best friend in the whole world, is one of the best bass guitar players ever and a talented musician." She grinned.

He nodded to each of them and turned back to her. "And you?" Brady wondered.

Jacob smirked. "She's one of the best vocalists in the school. She's got the voice of an angel."

"Oh I do not." Bella huffed. "Don't listen to them. They're telling lies again."

Angela rolled her eyes, not even bothering to argue. "Anyways, we have to get going. I promised I'd wait and show him to the art wing. I'll see you later baby." She said kissing Embry on his cheek. She jumped when his hand squeezed her ass. He knew she'd pay him back for it later on by the look in her eyes, but he couldn't resist.

"We're going to class. See ya round Brady." Quil grinned. "All jokes aside, welcome to the school." He nodded, waved his friends off and disappeared into the auditorium.

Bella sighed. "I've gotta go too. They're auditioning for the play. I have to practice some more."

"I don't know why you're worried. You always get the lead." Embry teased.

"Yeah Bells.. You'll nail it." Jacob grinned.

Bella smiled. "You two… go… you're gonna inflate my ego too much." She teased.

"Don't worry, we'll find out more about the new guy for you too! All of us saw the way you eyed him." Embry snickered when Bella told them to 'eff off' with a one finger salute.

"Man… she's got it bad!" Jacob snickered.

Embry only nodded. "Does love at first sight even exist? Or was that just lust for the both of them?"

"Who knows… either way I've got a good feeling about getting them together. Come on… lets go do what we promised. As her best friends, it's our job to warn him about what happens if anything bad should happen to her." Jacob grinned. Embry couldn't agree more.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Brady sighed and sat on the stage with his sketch book perched on his lap. He'd made a wonderful first impression on the head of the art department in the school. He'd been asked by Mr. Chase himself to work on the Christmas play props. He'd said yes, of course- Angela and Embry had informed him that it would be a bad idea to turn down a request from him. Now he sat taking a break from working on the backgrounds for said play. There were only three more weeks and most of it had already been finished thanks to Brady's tireless efforts- but they still had a lot to do.

"Brady?"

Brady flinched but kept drawing. He looked up when he noticed another person peering over his shoulder. He smiled when he saw Bella. It felt like an age ago when he'd first started at the school- over a month now- and in that time, he'd been included completely into Bella's circle of friends. It wasn't just because he came from the reservation either- they were quick to inform him of that fact.

"Hey Bella. What's got you hiding in here?" He wondered.

Bella grinned. "I like to come in and practice while everyone is at lunch. Gives me some peace and quiet at least."

"So can I listen?" He grinned.

"Are you gonna stay quiet?" She quipped.

He held up his sketch book. "I'm _always_ quiet." He teased giving her a playful pout.

Bella shook her head. She didn't want to admit that he looked _way_ too kissable with his lip jutted out like that. She'd had a crush on him for the last month and only Jacob knew about it since she told him everything. At least she _thought_ only Jacob knew. But sometimes, the way Embry, Quil and Angela stared at the two of them- she wasn't so sure she had been as discreet as she wanted to be.

She sighed. Making her way to the piano, she played a single note and took off with The First Noel. Brady found his hand still, his eyes trained on her as she sang. She looked gorgeous and she sounded amazing as she sung flawlessly.

"You're staring."

Brady jolted out of his thoughts when he noticed her sitting in front of him. He grinned and went back to his work. "Just lost in my head."

"Can I see what you're drawing?" She wondered quiet.

It had been the first time anyone had asked to see something from his private sketchbook and he hesitated. He sighed and turned it so she could see. He'd drawn a picture of his mom and dad and his baby sister. All of them had wings.

"Brady… this looks stunning!" She whispered in awe. "Who are they?"

He watched her tracing the lines of his mothers wings. "My family. My mom, my dad and my baby sister."

Bella's eyes widened. She'd been told by Embry that something bad had happened and Brady now lived with his grandmother, but to see them all with angel wings… she hesitated for a minute before resting her hand on his. She'd never heard him talk about them. And she'd known him now for close to three months now.

"You ok? Stupid question, I know.. I'm sorry…" She said grimacing at her own stupidity.

"It still hurts… My mom loved Christmas." He whispered. "Thank you.. For asking." He added with a small smile.

Bella smiled. "It never goes away. My mom died when I was little. If not for Em… and his mom… and Jake and Quil… their families…I'm so sorry Brady."

Brady sighed. "It's alright. It will be. I just… drawing helps." He finally said.

"Can I?" She gestured to his book, completely respectful of his answer.

He nodded and offered it to her. He had been completely unprepared for her to sit that close, so close it forced him to move his arm back so she could cuddle close to him. It took him a moment to realize she sat offering him silent comfort. He smiled and placed a kiss to her head in thanks. It had been an unconscious gesture, but it had them both smiling and getting lost in each others eyes.

"Look up you two!" Jacob told them when they turned to stare at Quil with confusion on their faces.

Brady swallowed when he noticed the mistletoe. He sighed and looked at her. "You don't have to you know-"

"Yes you do! It's the rules! You get bad luck or something like that otherwise!" Angela grinned.

Bella glared at her friend. If she didn't know any better they had been trying to- her eyes went wide and she turned, staring at them in accusation. They gave her innocent smiles, but she read right through it. She shook her head and turned back to Brady. He must have figured it out too because he stood staring at them with the same accusing glare.

"So… you gonna kiss or what?" Embry grinned.

Bella shook her head. She leaned up to kiss his cheek but squeaked in surprise when her lips met his. He'd turned his face towards her at the last minute. When they looked down towards the bottom of the stage, their friends were gone and the auditorium doors had just closed.

"So… uh… I wondered… you doing anything this weekend?" Brady asked rubbing the back of his neck.

"Depends." She said with a teasing smile.

He quirked an eyebrow. "On what?"

She nodded her head. "Where do you wanna go?"

"I was gonna ask you to go to the movies with me but if you don't wanna I-"

Bella pressed her finger to his lips. "It's a date."

"Yeah?" He asked with a grin.

She nodded. "Yeah.."

"See you at 6?" He asked.

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Sounds perfect…. Oh.. And Brady?"

"Yeah?" He checked.

"I'm glad you're working on the play… and I'm happy that I met you… you're amazing." She told him before walking away.

The lunch bell rang letting him know he needed to pack up and head to his next class. The grin he had only grew when he saw Angela and Embry waiting next to his desk at the back of the room. He looked out the window and sighed. Maybe it wasn't so bad. He'd found new friends, and with any luck, things with Bella would go well enough that he could call her his girlfriend after their date.

"You good man?" Embry asked.

Brady nodded. "Yeah… I'm doing ok… I think things have started looking up now."

Angela smiled. "For the both of you." She grinned.

Brady only nodded. For the first time since losing his parents, he could think with a positive attitude. Things had finally started to feel ok again.


	18. Silver Bells and Wolf Tales

**Title:** Silver Bells and Wolf Tales

**Pairing**: Paul/Bella

**Rating**: T

**Genre:** Hurt/ Comfort, Friendship

**Summary: **

Bella's not been herself since Edward left her. Billy invites her and Charlie to a family get together where she runs into Paul. A promise of friendship allows Bella to learn that she does indeed still have people who care about her.

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie Meyer…

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~)**

Charlie sighed and rubbed his hand over his face as he talked on the phone with his best friend. He'd known Billy Black since he'd been just 10 years old. Growing up together allowed him to know- learn by accident- one of the most well kept secrets of Billy's tribe. Some men had been gifted with the ability to turn into giant wolves- shape shifters charged with the protection of innocent people living within the tribes borders. He knew all about vampires too- much as he didn't want that knowledge.

"Isn't there _anything_ that can be done? I mean… can't old Quil do something?" Charlie sighed.

It had taken him too long to realize just what his daughters boyfriend was- other than a jerk. By the time he'd learned Edward Cullen had been manipulating her, it had been too late to say anything. That had been the same night that Edward had left his daughter defenseless in the woods. It had been the same night Charlie had gone to Billy to plead with him and ask Sam, Paul and Jared to help find her.

Three months had passed since the week after Bella's birthday when she'd been found at the base of a tree in the cold. Billy had asked Sam a few times to check on her, but nothing had broken her self imposed prison yet. He felt just as worried for the girl as her own father and he knew the wolves worried for her too.

Billy sighed bringing Charlie from his thoughts. "Why don't you and Bella come to the house. We'll have a small get together. I can have Sam, Jared and Paul talk to her again while you're here."

Charlie sighed. "Do I have a _choice_? I could _kill_ the Cullens myself for this!" He growled.

"Now you know you're only fooling yourself old man. It takes great strength to kill them and unfortunate as it is, a mere human wouldn't do any harm." Billy teased.

Charlie chuckled. "Yeah, I know. So when do you want us there?"

"This weekend. I'll tell Jacob to invite his friends Embry and Quil. Those three are never far from one another anyways."

Charlie nodded though Billy couldn't see it. "Alright. See you then. I'm going to go try to get her to eat some more."

They said their goodbyes and Charlie headed up to Bella's room. He stood shocked to see her bed made, her hair wrapped in a towel, fresh from a shower and her at her desk working on homework. The only thing to make him frown had been the still untouched food on her nightstand.

"Hi dad." She whispered. Her throat still felt tender from the nightmares that had her screaming herself awake the previous night.

Charlie smiled. "Hey kiddo… you ok?"

"I think so… I tried to eat some, but my stomach hurts." She said with some guilt.

He sighed. "It's alright kiddo… um… what made you… uh… you know…?" He asked trying not to sound too awkward. He couldn't find the right words to ask her what had happened to wake her from her self imposed trip to death's door.

Bella sighed. "Angela came by while you were down on the rez fishing with Billy. She told me everyone was concerned… and then showed me my mirror. She told me not to kill myself over some bastard with good looks."

"Looks different, huh kiddo." He tried not to sound so sad, but Bella still saw through it.

"I'm sorry dad. I'm… I told her I'm gonna try…" She told him.

Charlie nodded. "Billy invited down this weekend for a Christmas party. Just us and a few friends of the family. If you don't want to go-"

"No… it uh… it sounds fun. I'll find something to wear and have it ready…" She said with a small smile. It was just under two days away- shad plenty of time.

Charlie nodded and bid her good night. Left to her thoughts, Bella sighed. She eyed her mirror again and closed her eyes against the overwhelming sadness that threatened to erupt inside of her. Her heart clenched and her stomach knotted at the thought that Edward Cullen had abandoned her. She'd learned what he was and she hadn't cared- so she told him. And then he just left her… like she had been nothing. He told her she meant nothing to him. She felt so useless now and she hated it.

Just as the waves of despair were about to encase her and drown her in their victory, she pushed past that sadness and fought her way free of their grasp. She had to work at it, but she had to try to show everyone that she would be ok. Deep down, she knew she had to fight to find herself again. It would take work, she knew that. But she would get there.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Paul sighed. "Remind me again why we have to go? Baby alpha can't stand us… and what's worse is the leech lover. She'll be there and I don't want to see her pathetic ass tonight." He griped for the hundredth time.

Sam and Jared only rolled their eyes. They'd told him over and over that she'd had no say in falling for him. That Edward Cullen had manipulated and kept her enthralled to keep her close. They'd even showed him the old journals. It wasn't their fault if he hadn't read them.

"Do we have to go? I know the spirits told Old Quil who would phase and who wouldn't… but they annoy me!" Paul huffed.

Jared snickered. "Yup. The elders want to make sure we're still alive I guess. Besides, you get to watch Bella shut Jacob down again… that shit is too funny to ignore!"

"One way or another, you're going tonight, Paul. I told Billy and the other elders- all of whom will be there- that the pack would come. Yes, Bella Swan will be there- so will Jacob's friends Embry Call and Quil Ateara. You will at least pretend to be happy or so help me, I'll skin you alive and have you running double patrols for a month." Sam told him. Though the tone had been kept playful, Paul knew not to piss Sam off on purpose.

"Fine… lets go." Paul wasn't looking forward to it. Well… maybe some.

"You know… Bella's not to blame. Edward preyed on her because of what she yearned for- he offered her a chance to have a family and then it took it from her when she opened up to him… just give her a chance." Jared told him.

Paul arched an eyebrow. Jared hadn't played that card yet. He knew what it felt like to not have a family- to want to belong somewhere to belong. He sighed. "I guess." He told them with a shake of his head.

Sam only chuckled. "You're learning." He teased.

Jared grinned when Paul raised his middle finger in salute to them both. Paul was his best friend- had been since they were young. He knew the boy better than he knew himself sometimes. And deep down, he had a feeling Paul would be instrumental in healing Bella.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Bella smiled as Jacob introduced her to his two best friends. Embry Call was tall, well built with shoulder length ebony hair, brown eyes and a kind face. He appeared to be quiet- more so than either Jacob or their friend, Quil Ateara.

Quil was bulky and though he was taller than Bella, he had nothing on either Jacob or Embry. It looked close, but Quil was the shortest. And he was also a huge flirt. His curly hair and sweet brown eyes made him easy to talk to, but Bella had been more than off put at his exuberant and larger than life personality.

Bella excused herself to the quiet of the kitchen, not aware someone already occupied the space. She braced her weight on the counter top and released a deep breath, her tense shoulders sagging some. Just a moment of solitude already had her frazzled nerves soothing themselves.

"You're hiding."

Bella whirled around and gasped, her eyes lowering to the floor. While Paul's wolf rumbled inside of his chest at the submissive, the man in him frowned. She acted so… subservient. He had clear memories of the girl when she'd come to visit Jacob as a teenager. Though they didn't run in the same circles, he'd always seen her around the reservation laughing and teasing her friends. Her actions now had everything to do with the leech.

"I didn't think anyone was in here… I'm sorry if I disturbed you." She muttered.

Paul shook his head. "All this.. Because of some stupid leech pretending to be human." He hissed.

Bella's wide eyes shot up to meet his own hardened ones. In that moment, Paul saw himself, and he saw Bella, and between them, he saw a child - his child- in her arms with another on the way while yet another one came running to him. He shook his head. There was just no way.

"How did… how did you know?" She asked so quiet that he shouldn't have been able to hear.

He grinned and thanked his sensitive ears. "Because I'm what they're afraid of, leech lover." He ignored his wolf growling at him. If she had been meant for him, she'd have to earn it- so the man rationalized.

Bella frowned. "You're one of the wolves… my dad told me about you. If all you're going to do is insult me, I'll bid you goodbye." She said with far more fire than she even felt.

Paul smirked. "Gonna run away? How typical. Call your leech. Tell him to come back. He forgot you."

Jared and Sam entered in time to see Bella smack Paul and wince. Sam moved to step in front of them, working to try and calm Paul. He and Jared were none too shocked to see that Paul sat grinning, not getting angry.

Jared was the first one to figure it out and smiled at Bella. "How about we go take a look at your hand. Then we can talk to Billy and your dad. Sound good?"

Bella sighed. "Fine."

Sam watched her go along side Paul. He turned to him when Jared had her out the doorway and shook his head. "When?"

"Ten minutes before she slapped me." He muttered. "I may have pissed her off some."

Sam rolled his eyes. "You think? Come on… lets go let Billy know. And then you need to apologize to her!"

"Fine…" Paul grit his teeth at the thought and headed into the living room.

He and Sam told Billy exactly what had happened. To say the man had been shocked had to be an understatement. Instead of yelling though, he laughed. Soon enough, Harry Clearwater and old Quil sat laughing like loons as well while Paul scowled at them. The old fools found it hilarious that Paul had been blessed with a spitfire like Bella Swan.

"Now that the laughter is over with, I'll distract her father so you can talk to her. Your alpha is right, you need to apologize." Old Quil told him with an air of seriousness.

Paul sighed and headed over to Bella when she appeared following Jared. He held his hands up in a submissive gesture. "Can we talk in private?" He asked.

She eyed him for a minute before nodding. She slipped her jacket on and waited for him by the back door. She couldn't believe that she'd smacked him. Even if he had deserved it. She still felt bad.

Paul sighed. He closed the door behind them, quelling the noise from the house. He turned to lean against the railing, studying her. "I want to say sorry… for saying all that I did…" He muttered at last.

"That you talking? Or is that Billy, Harry and old Quil talking for you?" She quipped with a small smile.

"Both… we were told… afterwards… you know? He shouldn't have gotten to you in the first place… we just didn't know what it would do to you…"

She took a deep breath and let it out slow. "A friend of mine made me look in the mirror… she showed me just how bad it had become… and it's… uh… it's still hard… I know what he was… I just didn't see him as a monster… same as I don't see you guys that way. Billy told me you guys are hard on yourselves sometimes." She smiled at his shocked look.

He shook his head and chuckled. "You are definitely not what I expected." He mused, forgetting for a moment she still had no idea about imprinting.

"What did you expect?" She had to ask.

He shook his head. "A timid church mouse." He quipped.

"I'd say more like a timid field mouse. They're more brave than church mice."

Paul smiled. It shocked even him that it had been an actual smile. "So what do you know about the wolves? What have you been told?"

"Only what Billy and Harry have told my dad and I… next to nothing. I know you phase because of vampires… I know you protect people from them. But that's about it."

Paul nodded. Leave it to the elders to make him explain it all. "Well you're right about that… the gene to make us phase is passed down from father to son… if there are vampires near us it triggers the change. We grow first… unbearable growth spurts in only a few weeks… mood swings… increased appetites… and the anger…" He sighed.

Bella listened with a patient ear as he talked, caught on his every word. "What's it like to be a wolf?"

"At first we all hated it.. But once you get past that… there's the strength, the speed, the ability to protect our tribe. There's brotherhood… friendship… loyalty… and if we're blessed… _an imprint_."

She frowned. He sounded bitter- maybe sad, she couldn't tell. "What's an imprint?"

"It's the spirit's way of blessing us... Their way of saying thank you I guess. She's everything to the wolf. She helps to sooth him… gives the man comfort too… she'll love them both." He shrugged, trying hard not to let her see how much he wanted all of that. He had an image to protect- even if she didn't know too much about that.

She sighed. "Can I see you? Your wolf I mean?"

Paul shook his head. Yet again shocked at her curiosity. He felt a pull to her… but by no means did he love her yet. Not the way the elders said he would. Maybe it was because a wolf had to be whatever the imprint wanted or needed. She didn't need another relationship yet- she needed a friend right now.

"You're gonna have to turn around… unless you wanna see me naked at least." He smirked when she blushed. Oh he could definitely have fun pushing her buttons. She was indeed a mouse compared to him.

"How long should I wait?" She wondered.

He smirked. "Count to ten." He murmured in her ear. A smug smirk danced onto his lips when he heard her heart rate pick up and her breath hitch.

Bella gasped when she turned to face where he'd been standing. Her heart rate increased again- mere moments after she'd gotten it under control no less- as she watched a sleek, silver furred wolf the size of a small horse sauntered out of the trees. She bit her lip in silent debate before walking down the porch steps. The rational part of her brain told her she may have been insane for walking over to the beast. But something else- a small voice- yelled that nothing would happen.

"Paul… you're… wow… you're huge." Bella muttered holding her hand out to him. She hesitated a moment before running her fingers through his fur. "You're so soft."

His wolf towered over the girl, but he made no attempt to move. She was a curious little thing, but he loved that she wasn't afraid of him. He'd hate himself if she had been. After finding out her 'boyfriend' had been a walking corpse, she'd still dated him- not that she had much choice since he had been controlling her. He'd hate it if she looked at him as a monster.

She gasped and took a small step back when the wolf growled before calming herself. "You won't hurt me..." She looked pleased with herself that she'd worked it out after watching him lower his head to look at her.

If only she knew.

Wolves could be capable of hurting those they loved. He'd try with every ounce of his being to keep her safe- if for no other reason than her fragility as a human. His wolf growled in agreement. He didn't want to see her hurt. The wolf already loved her.

"Thank you for showing me your wolf, Paul… and I'm sorry I smacked you. I guess I just got mad… you were right… not about me running from my problems… but you were right… I thought I loved him… turns out I was just a toy…" She said with her lip wobbling some.

Paul sighed and phased back before her eyes. Fur melted into skin and before she knew it, he'd drawn her against him. She gasped at his body heat, wondering how he still stood.

"You're so warm. Are you alright?" She checked.

"It's another perk of the wolf. Higher metabolism means higher body temp. It's what helps us shift." He explained.

"It must be nice to have a family...to know that you'll find someone to love one day. At least you're assured of that much." She muttered with a slight hint of bitterness in her tone.

"You don't think you will?" He wondered.

Bella shook her head. "No… after what happened… I'd rather not try again. Once is enough."

"You can't let one bad experience ruin it for you… first the worst second the best… right?" Paul grinned when she giggled.

"If you say so…" She shrugged.

Paul sighed. He'd never forgive the leeches for harming her so bad that she didn't even want to try to find love again. "How about you and I hang out tomorrow? We can watch a movie… play video games… go to the beach… something fun." He'd just have to change her mind.

"Why do you want to hang out with me?" She wondered.

He grinned. "Because your friends inside have no clue what it's like yet- the truth of what happened to you. And the pack does… we know how bad the leeches are. So… come around Sam's tomorrow?"

She gave him a small smile. "Yeah… I think I might. You're gonna have to tell me how to get there though…" She told him.

"How about I meet you at your house… I patrol early in the morning… I can just run by and hop in the truck to give you directions." He offered.

"I'd like that. Thank you." She grinned and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

Paul grinned and kissed her exposed cheek. He snickered at the shock in her eyes. "What?"

"Why'd you do that?" She wondered.

He shrugged. "My way of apologizing too... Wolves are physical creatures by nature. The men in us tend to be more affectionate... just saying I'm sorry doesn't always get our point across so... we show it too." He told her with a grin.

"Bella! Hey… there you are!" A voice called from the porch.

Bella waved at Jacob and walked back up the porch to him. "Hey Jake. Paul and I came outside to talk." She said when she was close enough. She smiled and offered Paul a wave when he passed by them on his way back inside the house.

"You know… you should steer clear of him, Bells. He's no good. Him, Jared and Sam are in a gang." Jacob missed the frown on her face and the growl from Paul.

"You shouldn't talk bad about people before you know them Jake." Bella scolded him. Paul only smirked.

Imprint- 1. Future pack mate- 0.

Jacob only sighed. "They're just not good, Bells. I know you. You try to find the good in everyone, but they're just not." He tried again. Embry and Quil only nodded in agreement.

Bella shrugged. "I'll let you know tomorrow. I'm hanging out with them. I told Paul I would." She said before walking away from her three shocked friends.

Paul only grinned. So maybe she wasn't a timid church mouse after all. She might be more than he was ready for, but he couldn't wait to find out for sure.


	19. A Soldier for Christmas

**Title:** A Soldier For Christmas

**Pairing**: Embry/Bella

**Rating**: M- mostly for language

**Genre:** Friendship, Romance

**Summary: **

Embry didn't have the easiest childhood. He grew up with just two friends. Bella Swan was the bookworm everyone loved to tease, but Embry was smitten with her. By the time he turned 18, he was off to boot camp and Bella was off to the East Coast. He never expected to run into her while he was on leave for Christmas. It's the golden opportunity to finally tell her how he feels.

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie Meyer…

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~) **

"Come on Call! Wake the fuck up already!" A voice growled from beside him before something hard smacked into his chest.

Embry cracked his eyes open to glare at the owner of said voice. His hand came up to shield his eyes some, protecting them from the overhead lights of the airport while they adjusted. He moaned and offered one of his best friends- Jacob Black- a one finger salute as he sat up frowning. His dog tags jingled against his chest and his hands came up to rub the sleep from his eyes. He and a few members his unit- nicknamed the Dog Pound by their commanders- waited to board the plane that would send them home for Christmas.

He'd been in the army for three years now, and not once had he regretted it. He currently sat waiting for the freak snow storm that had settled over the airport to let up some. Upon seeing the heavy snow out of the runway windows he glared at his friend.

"The fuck, Black? You interrupted a good dream you ass!" Embry growled.

Jacob grinned. "They're trying to get the guys a flight out right now. They want us ready to leave."

Quil Ateara- his other best friend- shook his head standing next to him. "I never thought I'd miss the damn sand so much." He huffed. Embry arched an eyebrow not realizing how close he'd been to them.

Beside them, the other members of his squad nodded in agreement. Sam Uley, the squad leader, handed him a cup of disgusting airport coffee that had him grimacing at the taste. Embry shrugged. It would have to do, caffeine was caffeine. He couldn't complain about that.

"Do you miss it?" one of them- Jared Cameron- asked. He'd been born and raised in South Florida, and hadn't seen much snow in his short life.

"The snow?" Embry mused. "No… it reminds me of home, and there's nothing good there." He huffed.

Quil snorted. "I can name one good thing." He smirked.

"Not now Quil." Embry huffed before walking away.

Paul Lahote, a native of New York, arched an eyebrow. "The hell is his problem. It's Christmas. He's still acting like we're in the fuckin' birds over the sand box or something."

Jacob shook his head. "Q-man just reminded him of the one thing good he left behind when we left three years ago."

Sam arched an eyebrow. "You gonna tell us or what?" He asked, his southern draw shining through causing his friends to grin.

He only rolled his eyes and ignored them for the moment. He wasn't going to debate with them again. Southern boys just did it better- Georgia farm boys in particular did it the best (if you asked him at least).

"Bella Swan." Quil grinned.

"She was a complete book worm and always picked on in school. Police chief's daughter… straight A student… above a 4.0 GPA… I remember him saying she got a 25 on her ACT… something like 2294 out of 2400 on the SAT… freaking genius…" Jacob chuckled at their shocked looks.

"So what happened to her?" Jared wondered.

Quil shrugged. "I dunno. We signed up together and she left too, at least that's what my dad told me. Small towns are kind of harsh with no one to watch your back. I think her and Embry still talk sometimes through email though… he doesn't like to think about home so we don't mention too much about it to him."

Paul arched an eyebrow at that bit of information. Embry Call had always been a private person. In the three years he'd known him, Paul could say he only knew his name, his age and that he was the best friend of both Jacob and Quil. Hearing he had a crappy home life opened his eyes about why he stayed so quiet all the time. Repression did wonders for a person.

"She's on his Facebook page." Jacob mused. "She won't respond to Quil or I when we try to talk to her- we didn't know her like he did. She looks like she's done well for herself though. She got rid of the glasses and braces… slimmed down too- not that she looked fat in school."

Paul grinned. "Let us see then! We got time before we get back to the base!"

Quil grinned, pulled out his phone, pulling up Embry's Facebook page to find Bella. Jacob and Sam took that time to find Embry standing less than fifty feet away, watching the snow fall. They stood on either side of him, not bothering to say a word, letting him gather his thoughts to him.

"You know I love you two… but sometimes I think I could kill you both." Embry sighed.

Jacob gave him a half smile as his eyes met his friends in the reflection of the window. He knew Embry's words weren't directed towards Sam. "We're trying to cheer you up, man. You haven't smiled since we got back stateside. Don't shut us out Em… it won't work and you damn well know it won't."

Sam sighed. "He's right you know. Out of everyone, you're the only one in the squad stayin' at the base. It's two weeks before Christmas man. What's wrong? Someone mentioned home and you went from happy to pissed in pert near ten seconds flat."

Embry swallowed hard. "My mom…. She's uh… she's gone. Quil's dad emailed me. He said he's been taking care of her, trying to get her sober again… your dad too. Dammit… she took off… met some guy in the bar.. She's gone." His voice bitter.

Jacob stared, open mouthed in shock. "Just like that?"

"Just like that… guess there's no use pretending to love a son who's not home." He spat before heading to the bathrooms.

Sam shook his head. "He had it a lot rougher than he's sayin, didn't he?"

"You have no idea. Broken arms, sprained wrists, fractured ribs, bruises galore and battles with starvation- all so Tiffany Call could get her next fix and take her anger out on Embry when she'd come home." Jacob sighed before walking back to his friends leaving Sam looking appalled.

He pulled Quil aside and told him what happened, the both of them taking a minute to fight down the anger. It wasn't twenty minutes later they were told they'd been cleared for a flight to Fayetteville- just a twenty minute drive from their base.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Bella sighed. There were just under two weeks left to Christmas. She shook her head and wiped the counter down from behind the bar as she watched a couple of the regular patrons coming in for a beer or two. She smiled and laughed with them, teasing them about their addictions when she knew they weren't alcoholics at all. She'd been a bartender at Allie's for three years now- ever since she'd first moved to Fayetteville to go to college. Fayetteville State University offered one of the top programs in the country for early childhood education classes, and she'd jumped to move as far away from her past as she could. Her dad told he'd be sad to see her leave, but he understood why she wanted to go so far away. Even his best friends: Billy Black, Quil Ateara Sr., Quil Ateara Jr. and Harry Clearwater had seen her off when she'd left. She missed them during the holidays, but she refused to go home.

"Hey, Miss B, when are you gonna agree to go on a date with my buddy Andy?" A voice teased from one end of the bar.

She rolled her eyes and chuckled, moving down towards two of her regulars. She smiled at one of them- the one blushing. Her playful glare was sent to his friend, however as she gave them fresh beers. "I told you Tyler, I'll date Andy when HE asks me on a date. Not you. I know your game, remember?"

Tyler held his hands up in surrender. "Ok, ok. Just remember good looking, whenever you want to have some fun, all you have to do is ask."

She sighed and shook her head. The regulars were harmless for the most part. She'd found out one night after she'd just started how protective they were of the girls who worked in the bar. She'd also witnessed her first ever bar fight in the same hour.

"Hey, B, can you cover for me? I have to take a phone call. It's my ex… he's… well he's being an ass as usual.. But please?" Her coworker Danielle asked, pleading with her to say yes.

Bella nodded. "Go. Have fun." She teased with a twinkle in her eye.

"Not funny." Danielle huffed before hurrying out the front door. She yelled sorry when she nearly ran into the group of soldiers walking through the door.

Bella's back had been turned as the men took their seat at a table. One of the other waitresses in the bar sauntered over to them and took their order before making her way to fill their drinks. Savannah grinned ear to ear as she told Bella all about the gorgeous specimens of 'man meat' sitting at the corner table. She didn't know that one of those specimens had followed her to the bar and now sat, open mouthed, in shock. He took the drinks and sat down at the table with his friends.

"Hey, Jared… what's wrong dude? You look like you just saw a ghost." Paul mused.

Jared only shook his head. That couldn't be her. No way! "Hey, Jake… that girl you told us about… does she still have long brown hair?"

"Yeah… I think so. She always hated cutting it in school… why?" Jacob asked, eying him.

"Does she have any tattoos?" He asked again.

Jacob shrugged. "Embry, do you know if Bella got any tattoos?"

"A grey wolf over her left shoulder. Why?" Embry asked eying Jared too.

Jared shook his head. "I think that's her…" He pointed to the bar.

Six pairs of eyes turned and trained on the single bartender. Her waist length mahogany hair had been pulled into a pony tail at the side of her head, braided over her right shoulder. Her eyes sparkled as she laughed and the head of a grey wolf became visible when she turned around to grab a glass- thanks in part to the halter top she wore as part of her uniform.

Embry was shocked. "That's…."

"Well damn… she looks good enough to eat." Paul grinned. He barely noticed the group of women a few tables over who giggled and tried to catch his eye.

Embry shook his head . She had filled out in all the right places; Her pictures on Facebook didn't do her enough justice. He noticed too, that she wasn't the same shy book worm he knew in school. She flirted with a few men sitting at the bar and even took a shot or two with them.

"Tell me she's not the only one behind the bar…" Quil muttered.

"No.. look, there's the other bar tender." Sam said nodding to the tiny slip of a girl making her way back behind the bar.

Jacob sighed, took a long pull from his beer and stood. "I'll be right back. I'm going to go say hi." He grinned.

It only took Quil a minute before he followed suit. Embry rolled his eyes and stayed in his seat. He knew they'd mention him.

"They always like that?" Jared wondered.

Embry nodded. "Yeah… that's normal for them." He snorted, taking a long pull from his beer.

"Hey honey, what can I get you?" Came the question from the blonde bartender after Jacob and Quil sat down at two empty seats. She had yet to look at them.

Jacob smiled at the little blonde- the one who had nearly run into him as he'd been walking in to the bar. "I just wanted to ask you about your coworker."

She frowned. "Did something happen? I apologize for the servers.. Some of them are kind of new still. If you got an order messed up I can replace it." She said finally looking up at them.

"Nothing bad. I promise. It's just… see that girl? I think she's someone I know, but I don't want to look foolish if it's not her." Quil said jumping into the conversation as well.

Danielle studied them, narrowing her eyes at them some. With a sigh, she nodded her head. "Hey, B… come here babe."

Bella turned around and froze. Her eyes widened when she took in the sight of Jacob and Quil. She swallowed hard and wondered just how they'd found her.

"B?" Danielle tried again looking between her coworker and the two men sitting at the bar.

Bella shook her head, took a deep breath, let it out, squared her shoulders and walked over to them. "How did you know where I was?" She asked with a glare.

"Well hey, Swan. It's good you see you too." Quil huffed.

Jacob elbowed him. "We're not stalking you if that's what you think. We just got back stateside a couple days ago. We're out celebrating with friends." He said nodding to their table.

"You want to come say hi? There's a certain friend who would appreciate it." Quil couldn't help but grin.

Bella gasped. "He's here?"

"B?" Danielle wanted to make sure she would be alright.

She smiled. "Danielle, these are two of the guys I told you about last year. I went to school with them. Jacob Black and Quil Ateara."

Danielle smiled and nodded. "So you're good?"

"I'm fine. Um… do you mind if I take a quick break though? Just to go say hi?" She asked.

"Oh just go." She said waving her hand. "We're not that busy yet." Danielle grinned.

Bella bit her lip and followed Jacob and Quil over to their table. She blushed and shifted her weight from foot to foot when Embry only chose to stare, even after introductions had been made. He looked so much better than he had before they'd graduated. She could even bet he had a girlfriend now.

"Hey Bells." He finally said.

She smiled. "Hey Em…"

"You never told me you lived here…" He said. He didn't mean it to sound accusatory.

Bella shrugged. "I go to Fayetteville State University. Danielle and I have the same classes. Allie is her mom." She offered as her way of explanation.

Embry chuckled. "Same old Bella." He teased.

She shrugged. "I try." She knew what he meant. She'd never been good at telling people much about herself; She always ended up over-sharing.

"B! I need your help!" Danielle said.

Bella sighed when she saw Danielle standing between two men- already drunk- trying to diffuse an escalating situation. Embry's eyes widened along with his friends as they watched her- all of 5'6" tall- stepping in between the two fighting men, talking them down and showing them both to the door.

"Is it wrong that I'm turned on right now?" Paul grinned. "Women in New York aren't like that... they're soft.. and... divas."

Embry glared and kicked him under the table. "Lay off Paul."

"You still like her!" Quil crowed. "Dude! Say something!"

Jacob sighed. "Why won't you this time?" He wondered when Embry shook his head again.

"I just found out she lives around here. I haven't even SEEN her in three years! And she's only a friend." He spat, venom laced in his words.

Jared sighed and made his way to the bar. He pulled Bella to the side for a few minutes then grinned when she grabbed her jacket and made her way out the front door. With some effort, he hauled Embry to his feet and coerced him out the front door.

Embry shook his head and rolled his eyes. He nearly jumped when a throat cleared behind him.

"He told me you wanted to talk to me, but I'm guessing that wasn't the case, huh." She said with a small frown.

Embry sighed. "I do… but no, I didn't ask him to have you come out here in the cold. They're notorious for trying to set me up… now that…" He stopped himself before he could say something embarrassing.

"Now that?" She pressed.

He sighed. "Now that we're back stateside it looks like they'll be trying more."

"Oh… I see." Mild disappointment colored her reply.

Embry noticed it. "Hey… how late do you work tonight? Maybe we could get some dinner or something."

"I'm not off until 11 when the bar closes. I think you have to be back before then, don't you? We've seen our share of soldiers come in for a drink or two." She told him when he eyed her.

He frowned. "Yeah… curfew for us is 2200."

"What?" She blinked in confusion.

He grinned. "Sorry… 10:00." His breath caught as he stared at her. He swallowed when she blushed and looked away.

"Well that bites." She finally muttered.

"I do want to see you, Bella!" He blurted. He winced when she jumped. "Sorry… I- I know it's late in coming, but… I've kind of liked you for a while… seeing you now…" He licked his lower lip, trying to find the right words.

She smiled. "Better late than not at all. At least now I know it's not one sided."

"You… but… since when?" He wondered.

She shrugged. "Junior year I think. You had all the girls in school hanging on you then. They all wanted to date you."

"All of them but you." He grinned.

"I was just a friend. ." She shrugged. "Besides, they would have chewed me up and spit me out too fast to blink if I had told you I liked you."

He shook his head. He never would have guessed she'd ever had feelings for him. "They're not here now."

"No, they're not, are they?" She quipped with a grin.

His eyes searched hers, looking for any sign of uncertainty. When he found none, he grinned. "So… friends still?"

"Embry…" She chuckled. "I think we've known each other long enough to say we can try to be more than friends."

He shook his head. "I was so wrong…" He mused as he pulled her closer to him.

"About what?" She asked as her hands moved to his shoulders.

"You're not the same old Bella. You're better now." He teased.

She shook her head. "No, I'm still a bookworm… still shy sometimes.. Still boring."

"No… see… now I can tell everyone you're MY bookworm." He teased.

Bella grinned. "And now my Christmas isn't so boring either."

"No. And mine isn't so bad." He chuckled.

"It's about damn time!" A voice crowed behind them.

Bella jumped and whirled around, thanking everything holy that Embry still had his arms around her. She huffed when she saw Quil, Jacob, Sam, Paul and Jared standing behind them. She smiled when she saw Danielle's face in the window as well.

Embry only sighed. "Ready for Christmas with these fools?"

"I think I have time to get used to it. They're bound to be better than the ones we left back home." She teased before kissing his cheek.

"Home is where you make it, Bella." He mused. He remembered her telling him that when she'd found him crying once.

She smiled and shook her head. "Indeed it is." She mused.


	20. 6,494 Miles From Home

**Genre:** Hurt/ Comfort

**Rating**: M-mostly for language

**Pairing**: Jared/Bella

**Warning:** there's character death mentioned…. Just so you know ahead of time… *hides*

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind. In no way shape or form have I made nor do I intend to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie Meyer…

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Dust swirled up towards the edge of the roof top where Jared Cameron- 28 year old Navy Seal sniper- lay with the butt of his rifle pressed to his shoulder. He'd only been back for three months- 6,494 miles from his family, friends and fiancée- and he couldn't wait to leave again. His unit had been assigned to protection detail as important world leaders gathered for peace talks in a still hostile providence of Iraq. He rolled his eyes as yet another SUV with bright flags flying rolled to a stop at the make shift security check point. The marines assigned to stand guard at the gate would have been sitting ducks if not for the sniper teams placed at key points around the compound they'd thought to use for the talks.

"_Still awake, Joker_?" A voice asked over the crackle of the radio.

Jared shook his head, he'd never get away from the nickname. His eyes moved to his forearm where a tattoo of a Joker's head sat covered by the fabric of his B.D.U. He'd gotten the tattoo on a drunken dare.

"_Scared on your own choir boy_?"

"_Of you? __**Hell**__ no. Scared of the rat bastards gunnin for my ass here in the box? Maybe_."

Embry Call- known to Jared as choir boy- had become been one of the lucky marines assigned to guard duty at the gate. He and his two friends, Quil Ateara and Jacob Black, had joined the marines after they graduated from high school. It also happened that the three of them hailed from the same reservation as Jared. The 25 year old had shocked Jared to the core when he'd seen him after his first tour. Jared had requested to be assigned to his unit after that along with Sam and Paul- the three of them stating that they'd all been raised on the same reservation and wanted to be close.

Jared chuckled. "_Don't worry, we're clear. Your pretty face is saved from a scar or two for another day_." He teased.

"_Yeah yeah… it's __**your**__ pretty face we need to worry about fucker. __**You **__get killed who the hell is gonna keep __**my**__ ass alive? You got a letter waitin back at base by the way. I forgot to tell you_."

"_**Damn **__Call, you writin love letters to me now? Sorry bro. I'm already taken_." Jared teased.

The radio sparked to life again when Quil crowed, "_Man, Call… you gonna let him own you that way_?"

Jared's spotter snorted beside him. Brady Fuller had just turned 23 two days ago. He kept his head down, did his job and when they weren't eliminating targets or baiting threats, Jared always found him with his nose pressed into his sketch pad.

"_Joker, you know you're not pretty enough for me. I'll take your girl on a date though_." Embry teased.

Brady shook his head. "You gonna take that dude?" He teased without looking at Jared.

Jared rolled his eyes. "_You dick. When'd you grow a set of balls, choir boy? Besides, didn't I tell you? My girl has my ring on her finger. She's gonna take my last name when we get back state side_." He grinned when cheers were heard over the radio.

"_Alright ladies… enough gossip. Cam, you've got movement on your left side, three clicks out and closing. I don't have a clear shot without hitting your ugly ass_." A new voice chimed.

Jared rolled his eyes. Paul could be a dick, but he was a hell of a sniper. They'd been friends for years and he, Sam and Paul had joined together- all three of them vying for top spot in their sniper class. He adjusted his scope, noting that Brady had dropped his sketch pad to look for the target as well.

"_I see it man… looks like a van… at least two targets inside, driver has something in his hand_." Jared reported.

"_If he doesn't stop, you have a green light_." Their commander supplied after they'd called it in to the com center.

Jared inhaled, adjusting his grip on his rifle. He watched as the driver sped closer to the check point. He could hear Brady muttering and watched through the scope as the passenger rolled his window down, preparing to stick a gun out to fire at the marines guarding the gate. "Come on fucker. I dare you to get closer."

"Fucker ain't gonna stop." Brady muttered.

"Nope." Jared's finger squeezed the trigger, allowing the bullet in the chamber to find a new home in the chest of a would be bomber. He smirked when the windshield cracked and a second bullet hit the chest of the would be shooter. Sam's voice rang over the radio, "_suck it motherfucker!"_

Brady only chuckled.

"_I had to put my two cents in too_._ Can't let you have all the glory_." Sam quipped.

Jared rolled his eyes. "_Yeah yeah. Smart asses, the lot of ya_."

"_You love us Cam_." Paul chimed. He'd given him the nickname in high school when they'd been on the football team together. It stuck through boot-camp and even now in the Seals.

Jared rolled his eyes while Brady chuckled. "_I put up with you because of Bella. She'd kill me if I let anything happen to your ass._" He teased.

"_My sister loves me… it's you we're still unsure of bro_." Paul teased. She may have only been his half sister- the dirty little secret their mother chose to release in a drunken fit in middle school- but she was still his sister.

Jared snorted. "_Fucker_."

"_Again I say… you love us_." Paul teased.

Three hours later and nothing had been resolved. Tensions ran high as the leaders left. Once they had driven away from the compound, the guard units were given the all clear to return to base. They never saw the RPG, nor were they prepared for the network of IED's on the road. The last thing he saw before the world went black to him were his two best friends pulling him from the burning wreckage of the Humvee he'd been assigned to.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Bella sighed and leaned against the large oak tree at her back. The rare sunshine and warmth of the day had her downtrodden spirits on the rise. She'd been trying to distract herself for the last week. Her mind took every opportunity to remind her she'd not received a letter from her fiancé yet. She sighed again and turned her attention towards the leaves of the tree above her as she thought of him. She'd just found out she would be a mother and she didn't know how to tell him without distracting him.

An irritated huff to her left drew her attention to her best friend, Angela Webber. She lay on her stomach with a drawing pad open in front of her on the blanket that protected both of them from the damp grass. "Stay **still**!" She finally huffed.

"Sorry." She said, even though she wanted to laugh.

Angela rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you are! I'm nearly done, Bella, please stay still."

"Alright, I promise." She mused.

She lost herself to her thoughts, jumping when Angela's fingers snapped in front of her face. "Did you even hear a word I just said?"

"No… I'm sorry Angie… I didn't. I got lost in my thoughts I guess." She said with a sad sigh.

Angela sighed and closed her sketch book, taking a seat beside her. "Are you ok? You've been quiet all morning long."

"I'll be fine. The sunshine has done _wonders_ for my mood today." She promised. "And what's even better? No morning sickness…"

"You've just been so withdraw the last week. Have you gotten to talk to Jared at all?" Angela asked, her concern clear as she looped her arm through Bella's. She'd been with Bella when she learned about her pregnancy.

"For a few minutes before church on Sunday. From what I understand, he's been outside of the gate a lot. The unit he's with has taken a lot of fire lately. I'm just worried." She sighed. "I didn't even get to tell Paul hi."

A chuckle from the back gate had both Bella and Angela jumping. Angela smiled when she saw her boyfriend's dad- Bella's neighbor and her dad's best friend- Billy Black standing with a smile on his face. "Hello girls." He said before closing the gate and walking over to them.

"You scared us!" Angela pouted.

Billy smiled. "Forgive me. I got a letter in the mail that I thought Bella might want. you'd think they'd have learned who's house is whose by now, but… it's for you Bella."

Bella grinned and took the letter from his outstretched hand. "It's from Jay." She sighed in happiness and turned it over to open it. They both frowned when her smile fell in gradual increments until a worry colored her face.

"Are you alright?" Billy tried.

Bella's breath hitched. "5,055 miles from home." She muttered.

He arched an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"

"It's their thing, Mr. Black. Jared tells her at the end of each letter how far from home he is. I'm assuming it's not what she wanted to hear though, because she looks like she's going to cry." Angela explained.

"Paul wrote the letter. He Sam and Jared are in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center." Bella said, her voice quiet. "They're in Germany. He used Jared's name on the envelope because he figured I'd answer it right away."

Angela bit her lip and eyed her friend. She'd been there for her when Bella found out that her mom had cheated on her dad and Paul wasn't Charlie's biological son just before middle school graduation, she'd been there for her when Edward Cullen had broken her heart in their Freshman year of high school and she'd been there six weeks after high school graduation when she'd had to say goodbye to her boyfriend before he, Paul and their best friend Sam left for boot camp and the SEAL program. She'd never once heard Bella sound that hopeless- not even when she first learned she was pregnant.

"Bells… talk to us." Angela tried.

Bella swallowed. "Paul... he knows about Jared signing his letters with how many miles away they are. IED's went off near their convoy…" Her breath hitched as the letter dropped from her numb fingers.

"Ok, come on honey. Angela, help me get her into the house please. I'll go and see her dad at the station to tell him what's happened. See to it that she's gets some rest please." Billy said as he led Bella up the steps of her back porch. Once he'd gotten her seated on the couch he left, trusting Angela to watch her.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

The steady beeping of a monitor caused Jared to groan in annoyance . He blinked against the bright light as his eyes opened before he started to panic. Where the _hell _had he ended up now. The white walls, the white sheets, the machines, the wires and the smell of disinfectant and bleach had him ready to run. His sudden movement alerted the other rooms' occupants to his state of awareness.

"Hey, hey… easy… Calm down man. You're alright."

Jared focused on the owner of the voice. "Choir boy?"

Embry grinned. "Hey man. Good to see you awake." He leaned his weight on one of his crutches so he could touch Jared's arm.

"What happened?" Jared asked with a grimace.

Embry frowned. "You don't remember?"

"I remember crashing… an explosion…Collin, Mike… _Brady_…"

Embry sighed and moved to sit down in the chair beside the bed. "He didn't make it past surgery. Shrapnel went too deep and the doctors couldn't reach it in time to stop the bleeding."

"How'd they get the bombs past us?" Jared wondered.

"They hid them under rocks. That stretch of road hadn't been checked yet. They learned our routine I guess." Embry sighed, wincing as he sat.

Jared watched him. "You hit?"

"My side. I've pulled the stitches open five times already. I'm minus a leg for the time being too until the cast is removed." He huffed.

Jared shook his head. "Sam and Paul?"

"They're fine… relatively speaking. Sam lost a leg, Paul nearly lost his arm- doctor saved it from getting cut off at the last minute. Quil and Jake made it out too- they're the ones who got Sam and Paul out of the Humvee they were in together." Embry told him.

Jared frowned. "Who else made it?"

"We're the _lucky ones_." He said in a quiet voice. "The convoy got destroyed. Squad leaders, gunners, drivers… it's one of the worst attacks the base has had in a while."

"Damn." Jared swallowed and closed his eyes. He'd been with the same unit for three of his four tours. To hear that they'd all been killed- he squeezed his eyes to keep the tears away.

"_Fucking hell_… it's about **time** your ugly ass woke the fuck up you damn jackass." Paul's voice cracked from the doorway.

Sam came in behind him on crutches with a smile on his face. "Welcome back to the land of the living pretty boy." He teased.

Embry shook his head. He stood to leave and told Jared he'd be back later. He wanted to check on Quil and Jake and find a nurse to check his stitches. Jared nodded and Paul and Sam clapped him on his back as he moved past them. They turned to Jared and sighed.

"They're discharging us. We're being shipped home." Sam informed him. He took his time sitting down, the loss of his leg still not having sunk in completely.

Jared's eyebrow raised yet again. "How the hell long have we _been_ here?"

"Three weeks." Sam huffed. "You've been lazy, fucker."

"Well damn."

Paul nodded. "Yup. Bella's called the hospital four different times already looking for updates. The charge nurse had been really cool about it."

"Sounds like her. _Fuck_ I miss her." Jared mused, already tired again.

"You'll see her soon." Sam mused as he drifted off to sleep again.

(~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~)

Bella sighed and paced the floor of her living room while she waited for her dad to bring Jared and Paul home. Since Jared's parents weren't in town, Charlie had offered to let Jared stay with him. She peeked out of the blinds when she heard her dad's car engine die and her breath hitched.

By the time he had both feet on the ground, Bella had propelled herself into his arms. He let out a grunt as his back hit the side of Charlie's car, but he grinned when she pressed her lips to his. Charlie and Paul shook their heads and chuckled.

"Now **that's** an awesome welcome home." Jared teased when their kiss broke apart.

She sighed and grinned. "Don't _scare_ me like that _ever _again."

"I'm back for good baby. It's not possible to do that to you now." He promised.

Paul nodded when she looked at him. "Me too. So is Sam. He lost his leg."

"What about Jake, Quil and Embry?" She checked as they headed into the house.

Charlie shook his head. "Jake and Quil are with their parents. Embry is with his girlfriend, she met him at the airport."

Paul snickered. "Choir boy's getting some!"

Bella only rolled her eyes. "Too bad it's not **you**, huh brother mine." She teased.

"Hey! Bella! That's not cool!" Paul huffed while Charlie and Jared laughed at their banter.

It took an hour before word got out to the reservation that the boys had come home. Friends and family came by to see them, offering hugs and well wishes for swift recoveries. By the time Bella closed the door, Jared and Paul felt exhausted. She smiled and grabbed Jared's hand, telling her dad they'd be at the beach.

Jared grinned when he saw where she'd led them. "This is where we first kissed."

"It is." She grinned.

He smirked. "It's where I proposed."

"That too." She grinned kissing the corner of his lips.

He brushed the hair from her neck and dropped a kiss to her skin. "It's where we first made love."

"I'll never forget this place." She took his hand in hers, running her fingers over his palm. "There's another reason I came here though."

He frowned and looked down at her. "What's wrong Bells?" He asked when he saw her biting her bottom lip.

"I want it to be special for us too, not just for me." She whispered as she looked up at him. She guided his hand to stomach and grinned.

It took a few minutes to see it, but after she lifted her shirt for him, he understood. "You're…"

"I didn't want you to see it in a letter. My doctor said I'm just over 17 weeks." She said with a shy grin.

"You got pregnant before I left… **that's** why you got so sick?" He asked.

She nodded. "Angie broke down and got me a test. I told her we always used condoms, but… even the doctor said they don't always prevent it. I'm sorry for just springing it on you." She said, worried he'd leave her.

"Baby, no… I'm just… I'm shocked. We're gonna have a baby." He grinned. They'd been through too much in their lives for him to not be happy about her pregnancy.

Bella sighed and grinned when Jared sat down on the sand and pulled her into his lap. She sat up and turned to eye him. "I'm not marrying you until after the baby is born."

Jared arched an eyebrow at her. "_Ok_?"

"I don't want to look like a whale in my wedding dress." She huffed.

He chuckled. "Baby, you could weigh 300 pounds and **still** be the most gorgeous woman in the world to me." He promised.

She sighed and curled up against him. "I'm just happy you're finally home."

He placed a kiss to the crown of her head. "Me too babe. I'm not goin anywhere now. You can't get rid of me."

"I never wanted to in the first place." She grizzled.

Jared sighed. He couldn't help the grin that spread across his lips. He felt peace. Four tours to Iraq, the loss of friends, an attack to his convoy and the stress of war all faded in his mind as he held Bella close. She mattered the most now, and he'd give his life to keep her safe and happy.


	21. In All My Dreams I Burn

**Title:** In All My Dreams I Burn

**Pairing**: Bella, Jared

**Rating**: T

**Genre:** suspense, hurt/comfort

**Word Count:** 2791

**Disclaimer**:

All publicly recognized characters, settings, etc are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owner, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~** )

Written for the Tricky Raven 2015 Nightmares and Dreams Halloween contest

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One month. She'd been alone for a whole month. Not even the Halloween decorations gave her much to smile about anymore; Vampires that didn't sparkle weren't vampires at all. He'd left her in the woods to suffer his absence without so much as a phone call. He'd been right; they'd never existed. At least he'd been honest with her. Only, why wouldn't he leave her dreams? With a disheartened sigh, she closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

_Trees. Always, she found herself in the trees with nothing but a flashlight to protect her. She shook her head and started moving, gut instinct telling her she wasn't safe._

"_Bella."_

_Bella gasped and whirled around to face the trees at her back. The flashlight in her hand cast shadows against the ancient trunks surrounding her. The heat of her breath met the chill of the air, creating a fog of growing panic with each puff she expelled from her lips. Her clothes- flimsy pajamas that had seen better days- did little to protect her skin, but she ignored the growing goose bumps on her arms in favor of searching the growing darkness that surrounded her. Someone had called her name- the same someone that had lured her into the trees._

"_Bella."_

_Brown eyes widened and Bella turned with a gasp to search the shadows behind her. A rustling in the leaves alerted her to something moving in the bushes just past the flashlights reach. Something feral and dangerous. She swallowed and worked to calm her heart. Huge. If anyone asked her why she'd gone into the woods, she'd tell them she saw something huge. Hearing voices- even one she thought she'd never forget- wasn't something to boast about in public._

"_Bella."_

_A scream left her lips. That voice. Too close. A rustling in the bushes to her left caused fear to pool deep in her belly. Her heartbeat spiked and sweat beaded on her forehead. Run. She needed to run._

"_Bella."_

_She sighed in relief when she saw her back yard. Twenty feet and she'd be free of the shadows. Ten feet. Five. A scream tore from her lips as a hand clamped down over her wrist. She'd nearly made it to safety!_

_Pain, wicked and hot, raced down her spine as something sharp tore through the flesh of her back. One look over her shoulder had her stumbling away from the man- the monster- hovering too close. His nails dripped with her blood and she shivered when he brought them to his lips. _

"_Edward?"_

_With a sinister grin adorning his lips, Edward threw her body into the trunk of a nearby tree. He sauntered toward her, taking pleasure in the pain he'd caused. His once golden eyes now burned red as her blood coursed through his veins. A dark chuckle left his throat as she worked to regain her breath._

_He pulled her to her feet and held her up with a hand at her throat. Her brown eyes closed, waiting for the fire to lick through her as his mouth descended to her neck. A deep growl from the shadows halted him. A look over his shoulder revealed a brown wolf to her eyes._

"_If I'm to die, you'll join me, love."_

_A scream tore from her lips as fire seared through her neck where his teeth sank into the flesh. Hands on her shoulders gripped her tight as she fought to free herself. A voice calling her name alerted her that she'd had another nightmare- the same one she'd had since Edward had left her. She couldn't escape the phantom burn of venom racing through her body- the fire that coursed through her veins._

"Bella!"

Brown orbs widened in shock and fear, opened to focus on the familiar face of her dad. She inhaled and exhaled, working to calm her fast beating heart. With a sigh, she swallowed and sat up to lean against her headboard.

"Another one?"

She nodded and bit her lip. "Same one." She'd never told him anything more than that.

"Bella, maybe I shouldn't go tomorrow… One of the nurses could take Billy for his treatment…" Charlie sighed.

She swallowed and shook her head. "No, dad. I'll be fine… you should still go. It's only two days and you're only going to Seattle. Besides, you promised Billy you'd go for support."

Charlie sighed. She had a point. "I know.. I'm going to worry about you though. You're not sleeping enough kiddo."

Bella closed her eyes. "Don't worry dad. I'll manage." She hid a yawn and tried to smile.

Taking the dismissal for what it was, Charlie kissed her forehead and left the room. She counted to ten and opened her eyes once the door had clicked closed. She didn't want to remember Edward as a monster. She left a sigh escape her lips and pulled a book from under her pillow before flicking on her bedside lamp. She'd let the words on the pages carry her somewhere safe.

By the time she'd finished the last page, dawn had broken and the sky appeared to be in a reasonable state. It hadn't started raining yet at least. Her clothes were picked without much thought- lumberjack came to mind at first glance- and one careless glance in the mirror gave her enough time to run a brush through the knots in her auburn tresses.

Voices in the kitchen gave her pause at the bottom of the steps. Her dad. Billy. Harry. Two- no three voices she didn't recognize. She frowned and tried to stay quiet enough to hear the hushed conversation as she stopped just outside the doorway.

"- come to the reservation while you're gone. It's no problem for Sue, Charlie."

"You haven't heard the screams, Harry. I can't ask Sue and the kids to listen to it."

"You're exaggerating! It can't be as bad as that. I'm sure it's just your mind making things worse than they are."

Bella smiled. Billy always tried to see the good in everything. Charlie sighed. "It's sounds like someone's killing her." Bella frowned, hearing how tired her dad sounded.

"What if we stayed here?"

Bella knew that voice.

"Jared, right? I couldn't ask that. You have school. I couldn't ask you to miss it."

"Hold on Charlie. Sam's already graduated and the boys here are home schooled by Sue. They wouldn't miss too much."

"They're responsible, Charlie. They help Sam police the tribe when they're not studying." Billy grinned. "There won't be much for them to do until Halloween night anyways."

Charlie sighed. "I don't know… her screams… what if she doesn't agree?"

"Then we'll come back to work on the house when you come home with Billy." Sam said for all of them.

Bella cleared her throat and walked into the kitchen having heard enough. "Morning." She muttered.

"Morning Bella." Billy chirped, breaking the awkward silence. If she hadn't known any better, she could swear the three boys had been aware of her presence there the entire length of the conversation.

"Bells, you remember Sam, Paul and Jared? They're the ones who found you last month." Charlie said. "They're gonna stay here this weekend and get started on the new guest room I'm having added to the house."

She nodded at them. "Hi."

They nodded, each of them taking note of the deep circles under her eyes as well as the way she pushed her food around the bowl instead of eating. It took everything Sam and Paul had to keep Jared in his seat. His wolf growled at them, not understand the reasons behind keeping him and Bella separated. Jared hadn't even told her about their 'special connection.'

They watched as Bella rushed to place her still full bowl in the sink and leave the house. "You sure you're up for this?" Charlie asked again.

Sam smiled. "We'll be fine."

Charlie nodded and sighed. He offered Billy and Harry a beer, gave Sam, Paul and Jared a soda and ushered them into the living room. Guilt surged in his belly at the thought of being away from Bella. The boys would handle it. He'd heard from Billy and Harry about their responsibilities. They'd keep watch over Bella.

He hoped.

~X_X_X_X~

Sam waved goodbye to Charlie and Billy from the front door of the Swan home. Bella had just gotten home from school and upon seeing the three wolves still in her living room, had sequestered herself safe in her own bedroom with the door shut and locked tight. They'd shared a look before shrugging and deciding that they'd leave her alone until time to eat. Jared had already made his mind up that he'd force feed her if he had to, even though he'd not find much joy in that task.

"Think she's alright?"

Paul rolled his eyes. "She's fine. She's more than likely sleeping."

Sam chuckled. He nodded in agreement with Paul. "She'll come down and talk to us if she wants to Jared. You can't force her to open up to us."

"My wolf's going nuts. I mean, how can she still be wrapped up in the leeches?! They've been gone for a month now and it's like they just left yesterday to her! I can't even enjoy Halloween this year because I'm so damn worried about her!" Jared's eyes hardened at the thought of the Cullen's coming anywhere near Bella again.

"You need to calm down if you want a chance to talk with her. She's hurting and Jake- yes, I know your wolf goes nuts when the pup goes near her, stop growling at me- Jake said she's not handling it in the healthiest way."

"I can't help the growling. My wolf hates that Jake has any kind of feelings at all for her." Jared huffed and rolled his eyes.

Paul shook his head and snickered. "Then you should make a move Romeo. The imprint happened for a reason. She needs someone stable. Jake will learn after he goes through the change. He'll understand that you won't do anything to harm her."

"Someone should wake her up for dinner. Charlie says she doesn't eat too much these days." Jared huffed.

Sam's eyes rolled towards the ceiling. He'd been listening to the steady growing whimpers indicating she'd started to have one of her now infamous nightmares. He cursed under his breath and swore to himself if he ever saw another Cullen he'd tear their heads off for causing harm to a member of the pack. With a sigh, he stood and moved into the kitchen to reheat the plates of food that Emily had sent with him.

"Sounds like she's waking herself up already." Paul quipped.

Jared rolled his eyes. He couldn't be too mad at him and he counted it a miracle Paul had gotten over the anger he'd once carried for her. He had a sneaking suspicion him imprinting on her had gone a long way in changing Paul's mind- without the common link he wouldn't bother at all.

"_Bella."_

_Her pulse raced inside of her chest. Her mind hissed at her to stay away from the trees. Her feet disobeyed and moved closer still. Fear rushed through her as things unseen stirred in her imagination. The air pulsed around her with unseen dangers; predators waited in the shadows just beyond the reach of the flashlight she held._

"_Bella."_

_A gasp left her lips. She needed to get back to her bed. The dark held too many evil things- tainted memories of a love she once believed in and wicked creatures ruled by the chaos of death. she'd never been graceful, but she threw caution aside and ran in the direction she'd come. The direction of home. The direction of safety._

"_Wrong way."_

_She tripped, her hands scraping over the dead leaf litter and debris on the forest floor. She hissed as her skin opened under the jarring of upturned tree roots. Home. She wanted to get home. A whimper of pain escaped her lips as she fell yet again. But wait. There! Twenty feet in front of her. Ten. Five! Just five feet from her back yard._

"_Nice try love."_

_Pain raced through her body as her back collided with the trunk of a tree several feet behind her. She heard the bones of her shoulder pop as they dislocated from the socket. With tears in her eyes, she looked up to see the man she thought she'd loved stalking closer. His eyes- once golden and gentle- glazed over in a red, feral hunger._

"_Edward, please… let me go."_

_A cry of pain and fear left her lips as the crazed vampire lifted her from the ground with nails digging into the skin of her neck._

"_Hush, you'll ruin my dinner." He purred before his teeth sank into her flesh._

_Fire. Red hot and agonizing licked through her body as screams tore from her lips. Her eyes widened when she saw the same brown wolf stalking closer to the pair. Not for the first time since the nightmare started, she felt terror overtake her. The wolf's jaws tore the head of the vampire away before the great beast turned to her. The great beasts jaws opened before the darkness took her vision away._

"Bella!"

Her screams had driven Paul, Sam and Jared up the stairs, racing to get to her. They watched as her back arched off the mattress and her muscles seized in pain. Phantom fire from an attack delivered over a year earlier had them frozen in shock. The next scream escaping her lips sent Sam surging to her, trying to keep her from bending her body in half to escape the torment her mind had unleashed.

"Bella! Wake up! Bella, you're safe!"

Jared shivered and watched his mate- he had yet to tell her that tidbit- call out for the vampire who had abandoned her only a month earlier. Paul's hand on his shoulder brought him back to himself- he'd been growling at the mere memory of his enemy anywhere near the poor girl. He felt an overwhelming sense of sadness for her after what she'd been put through by the Cullens.

His touch soothed her enough that she stopped fighting the hold Sam had on her. Her breathing calmed and she opened her eyes when her senses finally returned. Shame filled her; she'd not wanted them to see her that way. They hushed her before she could apologize and even Paul told her to forget about it. He couldn't hate her when he'd seen a glimpse of the hell she lived in each night. He knew that hell all too well.

Jared pulled her desk chair next to the bed and took her hand in his own. Just for comfort. He promised her that. She nodded and offered him a shy smile. His wolf loved it.

Bella couldn't understand how she felt so at ease with the boy- she'd only seen him on the reservation once or twice before but she'd never said more than hi.

"Try and sleep." He whispered. His gentle hand wiped the tears from her face.

Her head shook in her refusal. "Let me stay awake for a while."

"You're tired."

"I'm fine."

He huffed a quiet laugh and moved a strand of sweaty hair away from her face. "You'll be too tired to function before you know it." He warned.

"I don't burn this way."

"What?"

"I die in my dreams…. Fire… pain… I still feel it when I wake up sometimes." She sighed. "Crazy, huh."

He smiled and soothed away the rest of her tears. "Not at all. Try and sleep."

"Think you can stop the dreams?" She wondered.

His eyes met hers and he smirked. "Nah, I know I can." He kissed her cheek- much to her shock. "Let me tell you a story about the spirit warriors of my tribe?"

"Billy used to tell me that story." She said through a yawn.

"Did he tell you they turned into wolves?" He asked as her eyes started to close.

She eyed him and shook her head with an amused smile dancing over her lips. "That's just a fairy tale. Jake told it to me last year…"

Jared refrained from rolling his eyes. The pup would be in so much trouble when he finally joined the pack. "Maybe, but you have to admit, it's a good one. Let me tell you again? Just until you fall asleep."

She eyed him and finally nodded her head. "Just until I'm asleep." She said.

For once, she didn't dream about fire or pain. A brown wolf kept her safe and kept the monsters of her mind at bay in the shadows of the trees.


End file.
